Behind the Scenes: A Southside Story
by WillowandSage
Summary: It was always clear who the protagonists of the story were in Riverdale. Four friends, each with their own unique set of strengths, values, and struggles who attempt to solve the mysteries and tragedies that occurred in Riverdale. But what if there was another side to the story? What if the Southside had their own story to tell?
1. Episode One

Our story is about a town, a small town and the people who live in that town. From a distance, it presents itself like so many small towns in the world.

Safe.

Decent.

Innocent.

Get closer though, and you start seeing the shadows underneath.

And although there are many a protagonist in Riverdale's story, this story highlights a different side of Riverdale. It shows the layers, the secrets and the chaos that happens deep behind the scenes.

Sage Smith kicked an empty beer can watching it bounce across the ground and join a pile of garbage. Somewhere behind her, the sound of beers cracking open and boisterous cheers erupted. As she looked up at her watch impatiently, she noticed a raven-haired boy creeping across the empty field between buildings before slipping into one.

Thanks to the Serpents, the Twilight Drive-In, a once proud historical place where families would gather to succumb to sugar comas and back-to-back movie showings, was now littered with graffiti and trash. Despite its daunting and forlorn look, it was still a home and a treasure to somebody.

"Beer?" a voice behind her asked.

Sage looked up to see Sweet Pea, holding out a bottle for her. He had been with the Serpents for quite some time now, even before her. Trouble often followed him, and he was always the first one to lead the group into mischief.

She shook her head. "Nah," she said flatly, "I'm sort of restless, and we've got school in five hours. I should really go and get some sleep."

"You're absolutely no fun." he teased, tipping the bottle back.

Something caught his eye. He looked over at one of the newer recruited members, a young girl with highlighted hot pink hair in a cherry red bandana, that stood stark against her smooth light brown skin.

She was the granddaughter of one of the original founders of the Serpents, Thomas Topaz. She was sharp-witted, fearless and of course, beautiful. Sage didn't know much about her, or even when she officially joined the Serpents but there she stood. She leaned casually against one of the bikes, wearing her leather jacket with the infamous snake adorned on the back of it.

"I know," she agreed. "I'm no fun at all."

He smiled, polishing off the last of the beer. "I'll see you at school."

"I'll be there, unfortunately."

Pulling herself up from the lawn chair, she picked up her tattered rucksack and gave a small wave to the rest group. Sweet Pea was already strolling over to the Toni, two freshly cracked beers in hand and a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

Tall Boy, another colorful character from the gang, paused to eye her from a distance before turning his attention back to the Serpent King as they were deep in discussion.

With Tall Boy, something was always brewing.

Cautiously, she walked up to the building she had seen the boy disappear into earlier. A short walk up the stairs led her to another shut door. She knocked quietly.

The door opened almost immediately.

"Sage?"

"Hello, Jughead."

He blinked in surprise. "Come in," he motioned, sidestepping away from the entrance.

"Sorry to intrude, I just saw you come up." she looked around. A small cot, a backpack, a little stove top kitchenette, a laptop plugged into a nearby outlet.

"No, no, it's fine. I was just..." he trailed off.

"Just living here?" she finished.

He tugged at his hat nervously, pulling it back onto his head. "Come on, you know I can't stay with my dad right now. It's all just temporary."

He said it out loud, but he didn't believe it. Things hadn't been the same since his father lost his job almost a year ago. He shifted uncomfortably before shutting the door behind them.

She nodded, perching herself on the edge of a desk. "Temporary," she echoed, looking around again.

"How's the Whyte Wyrm?" he asked.

"Cozy."

"You getting by?"

She nodded again, "Yea, I'm good." she paused for a brief moment. "I've missed you, Jug."

He smiled softly, it spread to his eyes. "I've missed you too," he confessed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

Sage shrugged, "It's not important. Not tonight anyway. But I'm sorry too."

"It's been a weird summer, hasn't it?"

"It's been a weird year," she countered.

He nodded in agreement. "I thought the worst of it had happened, but now I think the worst is yet to come now. Don't you?"

She looked at him questioningly.

"Jason Blossom."

"Ah, yes. The Northsider's death."

Everyone in Riverdale had heard the devastating story of one of the town's wealthiest and prominent families losing their only son to the current at Sweetwater River. It was everywhere, in the papers, on the television. It was in people's thoughts and in their throats. The town seemed torn. Some damned the boy to hell and an eternity of suffering, while others wept over an empty casket and still longed for some type of closure.

"If I know you, you smell a story, don't you?" she teased.

His smile transformed into a grin. "I'm working on a novel about it actually. " He plopped down on his makeshift bed and pulled his laptop onto his lap.

She moved from the desk and crawled onto the bed, next to him, overlooking as he scrolled to the top.

"Read it to me," she stated. He happily obliged making himself comfortable beside her. For a moment, the usually content loner, actually felt grateful for some company that night as he continued scrolling to the beginning of his narrative.

And so instead of going to bed, like she said she would, she became engulfed as Jughead Jones, the son of the Serpent King, read his memento line after line in the dim low light of a flickering lamp.


	2. Episode Two

There was darkness at first.

A bleak nothingness if anything.

But then, a slow, sluggish awareness. An ebbing spasm evolving into a stabbing pain in her neck, an achy stiffness in her legs that begged to be stretched out. She blinked, assessing her environment and groaning lowly. She tilted her head back to an upright position and found that she still remained upright against the wall, her lanky legs sprawled out in front of her. Next to her, Jughead slumped over in a heap on his side, his feet pressed up against her thigh and his right bicep used as a pillow. The screensaver on his forgotten laptop changed slide to slide still but remained toppled over in front of him on the floor.

She gasped loudly. It was morning. She didn't need a watch to tell her she was already late.

The sleeping boy stirred and groaned lowly, pulling his knees into his body and attempting to sit upright. "Oh, god," he rasped out. "Ow." He rubbed the back his tender neck.

Sage jumped to her feet hastily, scrambling for her rucksack. "Oh no, I fell asleep. We fell asleep! Son of a bitch! I'm late!" she exclaimed.

Jughead sluggishly looked up at his panicked friend. "I don't remember falling asleep," he moaned sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands. The last thing he remembered, Sage had fallen asleep beside him and he resorted to typing out a few new paragraphs. He watched as Sage located her jacket and threw it on carelessly and swung her bag over her shoulder.

"Neither do I," she said, frantically, realizing her feet were bare. "Where are my boots?"

He pointed at the end of his makeshift bed, crawling over and picking it up and tossing her one. "Hey," he said softly.

She froze as she stood on one leg, hands fumbling to tie up her boot. "What?"

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I can't be late Jug." she furiously tugged on her other boot. "I have to go to school and I have a test. It's part of my agreement with FP. I have to go. Maybe I'll see you around."

With the mention of FB, Jug's mouth instantly went dry. He nodded numbly, and before he could get another word out, she dashed out the door.

With a heavy sigh, he closed his laptop shut and got up and began to get ready for another mundane day at Riverdale High School.

For Sage, school didn't hold much of anything. She didn't get good grades and she didn't like being forced to learn. It was simply an obligation and a bargaining chip. Either way, she found herself sitting at the Serpent's table, munching loudly on an apple, when Sweet Pea and his best pal Fangs, plopped down beside her.

Both boys had food piled high on their trays and wasted no time digging in.  
"You end up getting your beauty rest?" Sweet Pea asked through a mouthful.

Sage shook her head. "Not really. It sucks, cause I have a test in English today, that I'm totally going to fail."

"Skip it." Sweet Pea suggested, eyeing the table of people across the cafeteria.

Southside High had always been a mixed bag of colorful people. Southside had a strong reputation for drugs, gangs, and thieves which naturally begat, chaos. Anybody born of Southside usually stayed in Southside. Instead of being ashamed of it, most of the people were proud of their heritage. They embraced it and wore it as a badge of honor. For years past, the Serpent's had run the town, but as of late, new threats were encroaching on their territory, and the Serpents were weakened by the events of late. The rope was fraying, strand by strand.

"Stupid ghoulish fiends." Fangs muttered, catching Sweet Pea's glance.

"Does FP still have you tailing them?" Sage questioned.

Fangs nodded. "Yea, but so far, I don't have much on them. I don't know who or where they're getting the heroin from. I just know that everyone wants what they have lately, not what we're offering."

Sweet Pea's eyes clouded over, his fist curling angrily on the table in front of him.

"We'll figure it out," Sage said to diffuse Sweet Pea, swiping a fry off of Fang's plate. "We always do. Hey, how'd you make out with the new girl, Sweets?"

Sweet Pea's face lightened up immediately and he grinned wide, pushing his tray with his half eaten food over to Sage. "Swing and a miss. Toni said that she's -and I quote, "more into girls."

Sage and Fangs laughed boisterously. At the same time, Toni made her way over from the cafe line and plopped down with her tray and a pile of books. She looked between them bewildered when Fangs and Sage doubled over in another fit of laughter.

Sweet Pea shook his head. "Ignore them," he said, rolling his eyes. "Toni, these are my friends, Fangs, and Sage."

Toni smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you both. I think I saw both of you last night actually. I was there with my grandfather. Can anyone tell me why we've been having parties at the Twilight Drive-In of all places?"

"Ah, it's just been our spot lately. We do a lot of deals there and it's town property but the town's given up on it finally. Sheriff Keller has bigger things on his plate, especially now." Fangs explained.

That was true, but there was more to that statement which Fangs neglected to expand on. An outsider had paid the Serpents good money to trash the local spot, thereby decreasing the value of the land. Decreased value meant it could be purchased at a lower price. It was a win for everyone, except anyone that loved the drive-in.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Toni, we'll see you at White Wyrm after school? " asked Sage. She liked Toni immediately.

A smile graced Toni's lips. "I'll be there."

As promised, the four of them sat in a back booth at the Whyte Wyrm.

It was a large, grungy place, with bad lighting and a constant reek of liquor and beer, but it was home for so many of the Serpents.

"So, when exactly did you complete the Serpent's Dance?" Fangs asked curiously, leaning in. "And how did I miss that?"

"Oh god, Fangs," groaned Sage.

Toni rolled her eyes. "You mean that outdated and sexist tradition? Back in the summer, like the end of June," she replied bitterly.

"We've all had to do it." shrugged Sage, although she agreed with Toni.

"Not the boys." Sweet Pea smirked, flashing a row of his perfect white teeth

"Misogyny dies hard." murmured Toni, annoyed.

"Seriously, how did we miss that?" Fangs wondered aloud.

"That must have been when we were on that run, dropping off stuff for the Blossom boy to pick up." Sweet Pea reminded him.

Sage's ears instantly perked up. She remembered the boy, whose hair reminded her of the red licorice that she used to steal from the Penny Store. He had found his way to the Whyte Wyrm and asked for fast cash. It came at a cost of course, but he was willing to pay.

Did he know it would cost his life?

_"Who are you?" Sage asked him from the wooden steps she was sitting on._

_"I'm here to see FP," he stated with false confidence as if he had rehearsed it prior._

_"What does a Northsider want with the Serpent King?" she mused, standing up to circle around him. He was taller than her and watched her move slowly until still stopped into the front of him, sizing him up._

_Fear and doubt flickered momentarily in his eyes before it was replaced with determination. "I need _money_ and you need runners that don't look like petty riff rats. I'm here to talk with FP."_

_She gnawed on her lip for a moment, slightly impressed._

_"Sage, inside. I'll take care of this." a voice from behind her boomed with authority. She turned to see the Serpent King himself, standing in the doorway._

_"Jason Blossom…" his name rolled off FP's tongue like honey before he greeted him with a sly smile._

_"Let's talk, boy."_

"Sage!"

She blinked coming back to reality. "Huh, what?" she stuttered, looking up from her drink.

"I asked you if you're doing the drop with me tonight, or if you're gonna sneak off to see Jughead again," repeated Sweet Pea, with a raised eyebrow.

Her mouth dropped open slightly, but she couldn't come up with a defense.

"Yea," he continued, running the pad of his finger along the rim of his glass. "I saw you last night."

"FP's son?" questioned Toni. "You know him?"

"We all do." shrugged Sage. "In one way or another."

"I don't get it. Where is he? Why isn't he with the Serpents?"

Fangs leaned forward, folding his arms on to the table "He stays on Northside territory now. It's kinda a sore spot."

Sweet Pea made a noise of disgust under his breath. "Traitor."

Fangs continued, "Things around here have been… tough lately. Gladys moved up to Toledo almost a year ago after FP lost his job and when on a drinking binge. Rumor has it, she started up her own business and it could very well be an extension of the Serpents." he whispered in a hushed voice.

"But Serpents don't abandon their own…" Toni trailed off.

"And nobody knows if that's true," added Sage.

Fangs shrugged. "I don't know. Tall Boy and Mustang have been stepping in a lot with these new threats popping up."

Toni fiddled and ripped her napkin in tiny pieces, scattering them across the table. "Think Jughead will eventually join us?"

"That prick?" scoffed Sweet Pea.

"Hey," Sage's head snapped up, her eyes narrowed in a tight glare at him, "Say whatever you want, if he chooses, he's next in line to lead this club."

"If he wants it, and he's made it clear… he doesn't." Fangs resolved.

Silence fell among them for a moment.

"To answer your question, Sweet Pea." Sage piped up, softer this time. "Yea, I've got your six on the run tonight."

Sweet Pea nodded curtly, still sour at the mention of the long-lost Serpent Prince. "Good."

Sage hated that Fangs was right. Absolutely hated it. Jughead had no interest or intention in getting tangled up in the gang. In fact, since his mother and sister had left, he'd become more brooding and introverted than ever, almost a shell of himself. A tumbleweed, blowing from one side of the town to the next.

Her mind drifted again to the night before. Up until last night, she hadn't seen him in months. It was so good to see him again. Like a breath of fresh air after inhaling stagnant polluted water.

The long summer months with the Serpents had kept her busy and working long hours. All the while, Jug stayed close to his Northsider friends, buried behind a book, a laptop or a milkshake.

As much as she knew he was never too far away, and as much as she missed her friend, it didn't change anything. He didn't want the life she needed and he moreover, he didn't understand why she needed it. She didn't understand why he was reluctant to be a part of something that was his destiny and flat out denied it.

But what Sage didn't know, was how true Jughead's words from the night before would be.

The worst was yet to come.


	3. Episode Three

It was dark, certainly darker than most nights. The moon was just a small sliver in the sky as Sage and Sweet Pea trudged through Sweetwater Forest down to the riverbank after their first drop of the night.

They had met a few high schoolers from the Northside, the first stop of many. Sweet Pea, still grumbling as he trudged through the brush to the pathway, the meeting putting him in a sour mood.

"Douches! All of them! They have more in one week's allowance than I'd see in a lifetime! Thought they could honestly undercut us?" His hands flew up in the air in aggravation, as he shoved a tree branch out of his way.

Sage smiled sympathetically, "Not on your watch."

A proud grin broke across his face.

She pushed in front of him, staying a few strides ahead as they drew closer to the shore, the water lapping against the shore and the crunching of leaves and sand under their boots the only sound between them.

Times like this made her especially grateful for Sweet Pea. When conflict arose, he thrived on it. He was responsive and incredibly quick-witted. Maybe it was his height that gave him that extra leverage, or the permanent snake proudly displayed on his neck that gave a sense of intimidation but the minute the seniors tried to short-change him, or anyone for that matter, Sweet Pea became a force to be reckoned with. He usually ended up taking what he was owed and a little extra for the trouble. He favorably called this his Asshole Tax.

"With the extra, I got from those dicks, we should grab some food after this," he suggested, breaking the silence again.

She turned around to face him, walking backward slowly. "If you're paying, I'm in," she answered.

"Technically, they're paying. So, is that a yes?"

"Let's just see how long it takes us to get through all these drops tonight and th-"

Her words fell short as she tripped over something, knocking her right off her feet as she fell backward.

"Oof!" she groaned loudly as her back made contact with the soft, wet ground. She rolled to her side, pushing herself up to see what had tripped her. She caught a glimpse of Sweet Pea's face first.

He looked absolutely horrified, eyes wide and mouth slack-jawed.

Her eyes shifted down in front of her and saw… shoes? Legs?

_What on earth?_

She scrambled up to her feet hastily, ignoring the damp sand on her jeans.

Then she saw it. Her brain didn't process just what she was seeing at first and she surely wouldn't have recognized him if not for his fire-engine red hair. It was still just a bright, waving in the current of the water's soft waves. His face, his body, waterlogged and deformed, mouth agape, eyes half-lidded but rolled back…. and a silver bullet promptly placed in the center of his forehead.

It was Jason Blossom.

She heard a shrill, high-pitched scream cut through the night. It wasn't until Sweet Pea quickly yanked her back away from Jason's body and wrapped his hand around her mouth to silence her, did she realize it was her.

"Shhhhh…" he soothed, his voice low and tense, as he kept her hugged tight to his large frame. His eyes were fixed on the body in front of them again.  
She nodded hastily, swallowing hard before he pulled his hand away slowly.

"Sage, we have to go now," he whispered. He didn't dare speak any louder.

She nodded again, numbly. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Jason, her feet frozen in place.

"Sage!" he hissed again, tugging on her arm gently. "Let's go."

She stumbled, finally breaking her trance from the corpse and met Sweet Pea's dark, alarmed eyes. "Y-yea. Go, I'm behind you."

Sweet Pea took off in a sprint. She followed him, just a few short paces behind him. The only sound was their cumbersome footsteps and heavy breathing as they rushed back to the parked car, hearts thudding against their chests as they tried to catch their breath again.

As Sweet Pea was unlocking the car door, a pair of headlights broke through the dark. A strange car slowly drove up the broken pathway and slowed to a complete stop. The headlights turned off.

Sweet Pea and Sage hurried into the car and locked the doors, watching from their safe distance. They didn't dare move.

Their presences seemed unnoticed. Two boys wearing varsity jackets, stumbled out of the vehicle, laughing boisterously. They shared a brief chaste kiss before one of the boys pulled the other further down to the shore making their way down to the water's edge, attempting to pull off layers of their clothes as they jogged. Their voices boomed against the quiet of the night.

"We have to go," whispered Sage. She shivered although she wasn't cold.

Sweet Pea furrowed his brow, frowning as he waited till it was safe and he was sure the boys were out of sight and the coast was clear. He turned on the car and promptly, yet cautiously drove in the opposite direction.

The rest of the drops for the night would have to be on hold.

Sage took out her phone from her coat pocket and texted one statement.

_"We've got a problem."_

She woke up from a restless sleep, her scream cut short as she snapped her mouth shut.

Someone pounded aggressively against the shared wall. "Shut the hell up!" They yelled with one more final bang.

She covered her face, groaning softly. Since that night, Jason's waterlogged body visited her every night. She had seen death before but the brutality and gruesomeness left her with gnawing stomach aches and haunting nightmares.

Jason Blossom didn't drown after all but was brutally and mercilessly murdered, over a week after his 'accident'. Furthermore, his body was dumped several weeks after his murder.

The last time she had seen him alive, was when he was picking up the keys from FP to an old station wagon.

This new bit of information left everyone, Serpents included, on edge.

Perhaps what Sage feared most of all, is that the Serpents had something to do with with the murder. The Blossoms were a powerful and vengeful family and if they caught wind of any foul play, they would destroy everything and everyone in their path without any sort of regret.

She also thought of Jughead, who at this point must be beside himself and on a writing binge. It put a small smile on her face as she pictured him huddled over his laptop, furiously typing the contents of his thoughts on virtual paper.

It definitely puts an interesting twist on his story. She thought to herself as she got herself up. She pulled on some fresh clothes and pocketed a few crinkled dollars in her front pocket before leaving her room.

Sleep wasn't going to be an option for her tonight anymore.

She walked to Pop's trying to shake off any remaining remnants of Jason in her head.

The doorbell jingled as she walked in, announcing her presence.

Immediately her eyes meet familiar dark one, looking at her.

"Twice in one week? Must be my lucky day." Jug sang smugly, pushing his laptop off to the side.

She caught herself smiling perhaps too big, and slid in the booth opposite of him.

"Apparently so."

"Couldn't sleep?" he remarked, bringing a cup of lukewarm coffee to his lips.

"No," she admitted. "But given the latest Riverdale news, it seems like nobody can." She gestured to his open laptop.

"The untimely tragic accident turned murder mystery literally overnight." His eyes lit up, his lips turned up in a smile.

"So who are the suspects, Detective Jones?" she asked, leaning back against the seat of the booth, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sage," he chided. "I can't give away all my secrets. But I've come up with the perfect title for the novel now. I'm going to call it, _In Cold Blood_."

She shuddered, a chill licking up her spine.

The observant boy noticed as she rubbed her arms uncomfortably. "Sage, what is it?" he questioned.

She sighed softly. "I know the town's talking about how that Moose-guy and the sheriff's kid found Jason, but uh, I was on a run with Sweet Pea and we found him first."

Jughead's eyebrows rose in surprise, his mouth dropping open slightly "What?"

Sage shook her head, shutting her eyes tight, willing the image of his body to go away. "Yea, I don't really want to talk about it either. It was just really, really awful."

Jug nodded slowly, processing.

She cleared her throat and looked up. Jughead was watching her wearily.

"Just... distract me, Jug."

He offered his cup of coffee to her. "Well, on another note, Archie has officially lost his mind. He's dating our music teacher."

This certainly distracted her. Her eyes widened as she gripped the mug's handle. "What! No way!"

"Yes, way."

"How did you find out?"

"With my exceptionally sharp journalist skills, of course," he teased which earned him another smile. "I walked by the music room and they were all cozy, holding hands and crap. I got into it with him later that night and he basically threatened me not to tell anyone."

"Whoa, I can't believe that! Is she old?"

"No, no. Well, too old to be dating a high school sophomore. She's in her 30's maybe."

"So illegal!"

He snuffed. "I know, just… explains everything too."

"How so?"

"He was being such a tool this summer. We had plans for this epic road trip and he blew me off a few days before we were supposed to go with some lame excuse. And then just stopped talking to me. My best friend just dropped me and fell off the face of the planet. We're not even friends now. I feel like I don't even know who he is anymore."

"Gee, I don't know what that feels like," she stated sourly, looking down at the mug.

"Sage…" he warned his face darkening for a moment. "That's not fair, and you know it."

"No, it really wasn't." she pressed.

"Really, Sage?" His eyes narrowed. "You want to do this now?"

Her face softened and she exhaled a huge whoosh of air from her lungs. "No, Jug. I mean, two nights where we've been civil, we can't break our record now."  
She was teasing him but the scowl didn't leave his face.

"You know, I lost everything last year," he said bitterly. "Everything I considered home. Everything I considered safe."

"I know."

"You don't!"

She was quiet, her stomach churning uncomfortably. But he wasn't finished. "I needed you, I needed my family, I needed Archie!"

"I was always there, Jughead," she argued.

"No, made your choice when you sided with HIM!" he spat.

"He _IS_ my family now! He helped me when no one could!" she shot back.

"I could have!"

"You couldn't, Jughead and you know it! We are not the terrible people that you have built us up to be in your head."

He scoffed angrily. "You chose him, over me. You chose that life over me."

"It was never like that, Jug. _YOU_ made it out to be like that. Whatever issues you have with your father, they aren't mine. You can't harbor all your brooding teenage angst and take it out on me because I did what was best for _ME_!"

"So slinging drugs, getting arrested or-or getting trashed every night is what's best? Oh, how about a striptease on some STD ridden pole? Really, that's what's best for you?"

She exhaled shakily, anger surging up in her chest. She felt her fists ball up underneath the table, nails biting at her palms. "At least I finally have a place in this world finally, Jughead. Dare I say, a family? Can you say the same?"

The moment the words escaped her lips, she instantly regretted it. But her stubbornness wouldn't let the remorse show.

He shook his head, slamming his laptop shut and pulling out a few dollars to throw down on the table. "Then enjoy life with my lowlife drunken father, who put his crimes and his drinking and his drug peddling tricks above everything and everyone else. But sure, Sage, tell me I don't understand."

He gathered up his things, gritting his teeth as he stood up. "You're really going places, kid. Definitely way better off than me." he sneered, sarcastically. "Nice catching up."

The doorbell jingled as he stormed out, leaving her with a cold cup of joe and an empty booth.

She waited for the tears to come, but when they didn't, she sat silently there until the sun crept up from behind the trees and it was time to leave for school.


	4. Episode Four

Another week seemed to come and go.

Another test was flunked.

Homework was skipped.

Several drops were made on top of the ones that had to be postponed.

There was some big deal moving forward for the Southside Serpents that had everyone buzzing excitedly.

The Twilight Drive-In was officially being shut down and sold. Saturday would be its final showing and then a large payday was coming to the Serpents. Payday made everyone happy.

"Let's go out with a bang!" someone roared, raising a drink up in the air.

He was answered by the jubilant cheering of the bar. They were in celebration mode already.

"God, I need to go outside," Sage grumbled to herself, pushing up from her seat and retreating out the back door away from the cluster of people.

Sweet Pea followed her out.

"You've been in a foul mood all week. What is going on?" he asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and delicately selecting one with nimble fingers. It hung out of the corner of his mouth as he lit it and inhaled deeply.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit," he exhaled a cloud of grey smoke toward her. "You haven't been right since the night we found Blossom's Bloated Body."

"Ugh, shut up, Sweet Pea!"

"See! That right there! Come on, what's up?" He perched himself on the banister beside her, nudging her with his elbow.

"I got into it with Jughead."

"Ah," he concluded sourly. "That explains it."

"He's so ridiculous and-and just so... stubborn!" she growled. "He's blaming the wrong people and he won't even stop to listen."

Sweet Pea passed the cigarette over to her, plucking a new one out for himself. "Well, you know how I feel about dear ol' Lughead there."

"He just... doesn't understand where I'm coming from at all. It's so frustrating. Whatever, it's fine," she bristled. "It's not just that. I flunked another test and FP's gonna be up my ass about it and I haven't been sleeping since we stumbled into Blossom. I'm just overtired."

"Yea, that was pretty messed up, even for me," he admitted.

"Yea..." she trailed off, pursing her lips around the cigarette and inhaling slowly. She was eager to feel the slow burn of smoke in her lungs to distract her from her rampant thoughts.

"Buck up. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Twilight for one more encore show and shut that shit down!" He grinned, nudging her again. "Eh? Eh? Sound likes fun, huh?"

She managed a smile and watched as the end of the cigarette gave off little wisps of blue-grey smoke. "Yea sounds like fun."

He took one more long drag of his cigarette before flicking it to the ground. "Let's go grab some shots, on me. I'll make sure you go out like a baby tonight, I promise."

She gave him a toothy grin. "Lead the way."

There was a group of twenty-five or so Serpents all hanging out in the back lot, drinking, smoking and occasionally sneaking off to make a quick deal. They made no effort to hide their rambunctiousness, even as Sheriff Keller occasionally drove by.

Fangs, Toni, Sage, Sweet Pea all sat together in a little circle, on a striped wool blanket with another member who was a just year older than them, Joaquin. With his slicked-back licorice hair and his baby blue eyes, he was mesmerizing to look at. At least Sage thought so.

"Truth," Toni said confidently, flipping a lock of her bubble gum highlighted hair over her shoulder and reaching to take Fang's drink from his hand.

He pulled it away at and took a hurried sip only passing it to her afterward. "Why did you join the Serpents?"

She licked her lips before she spoke. "My uncle really, _really_ didn't like that I dated girls."

"I didn't realize that was still an issue nowadays," Sage criticizes.

Toni shrugged half-heartedly. "It is, but it doesn't matter anymore, I found a new family that accepts me. So, here I am." She raised the beer bottle and took a delicate sip with a small smile.

"I'm happy to have you here... even though I can't get you to sleep with me." grinned Sweet Pea, earning him a high-five from Fangs.

Toni rolled her eyes. "Thanks... I think?"

Suddenly, a young girl with bold lipstick and a seemingly large sense of entitlement popped up from the back of a nearby pickup truck "Hey!" she sneered. "Do you know what happens to a snake when a Louis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the hell up or you'll find out!"

"She'd be hotter if she wasn't trying to be intimidating," Toni smirked when the girl snapped back around and sat.

Sage and Sweet Pea both grinned.

"Fangs, Truth or Dare." Joaquin piped up, paying no attention to the girl's threat.

"Dare."

Joaquin mulled over an idea for a moment. "I dare you to take Tall Boy's drink, and finish it in front of him."

While everyone fell into a fit of laughter, Fangs paled. "Son of a bitch," he murmured standing up, slowly to accept his fate.

Although Tall Boy was apart of the Serpent family and technically next in the chain of command, he wasn't particularly liked by everyone. Known for his love of fighting, and his particularly short fuse, Sage got the gut feeling that his intentions only revolved around himself. She also got the feeling, that he didn't particularly like her.

The group watched wide-eyed as he reluctantly shuffled over to Tall Boy, who leaned up against the building causally. Fangs reached out, took the beer from his hand and tipped his head back, guzzling it down.

It took Tall Boy a moment to register what happened, his face bewildered. As soon as he did, he straightened up, pushing off the wall in one swift movement, cocked his fist back and slammed it into Fang's face.

The group all collectively groaned in pain.

Fangs dropped down to the ground in a heap. Tall Boy took a leggy step over him to retrieve a new drink, muttering, "Damn kids."

Fangs was slow to rise, but he picked himself back up and walked back to the group, holding his face. "Well, that sucked," he said as he sat back down.

Sweet Pea had tears rolling down his cheeks as he held his stomach with a burst of boisterous laughter. "Oh my, GOD! That was awesome!"

"Shut up Sweets," sulked Fangs.

Somewhere between the exchange of words between Fangs and Sweet Pea, there was another exchange going on. Joaquin was watching someone, a playful glimmer in his eyes. Sage recognized the boy he was staring at immediately from the night at Sweetwater River. He was the boy who "found" Jason.

Always perceptive, Toni also noticed Joaquin's attention was directed elsewhere.

"Joaquin, truth or dare."

His bright baby blues shifted back to her, unblinking. "Dare."

She smiled like the Cheshire cat, curling her delicate fingers under her chin "Go talk to that boy you're ogling. Double dare you to get his number."

Joaquin's mouth hung open for a moment before he stood up, squaring up his shoulders and sauntered fearlessly over to the snack bar. There he waited for the right opportunity to talk to the boy, who was climbing out of the bed of the truck to refill his snacks.

Sage all but missed it though, because now it was her turn to be distracted. FP had snuck away from the rest of the group, slipping into the shadows behind a building.

She cocked her head, curiously. A woman, thin, leggy and surely too overdressed for a night at the drive-in appeared just a few moments after and followed him behind the building. In her hand, was a small black bag.

They were gone for more than five minutes but less than ten. FP emerged, now, with the bag in his hand and strolled over to rejoined the group, passing it off to Mustang, who looked disgruntled for some reason.

"Boys, let's move out!"

The gang cheered and whooped. They dropped their half drank beers right there on the ground, grabbed their helmets, and climbed on their bikes. Motorcycle engines roared to life, and one by one.

"I guess we're calling it a night," sighed Toni, disappointed.

Sweet Pea grinned. "Nah, we're just moving back to the club. Means we got paid. Let's roll."

"What about Joaquin?" Sage asked, looking around.

"I think he's occupied currently." smiled Toni, pointing. Joaquin and the sheriff's son were deep in conversation, inching away slowly to a more secluded area.

As they were polishing off their drinks and gathering up their things, FP made his way over to them. He nodded toward the group and motioned for Sage.

She stepped forward and he tugged on her arm to pull her away from the rest of them.

"I have a job for you to do," he whispered in her ear.

She nodded once and he patted her on the shoulder.

"Good. We'll discuss details tomorrow," he said over his shoulder.

It wasn't till then, she noticed that despite hoping for it, she didn't see Jughead once that night. A wave of disappointment washed over her as she packed up her things and made her way back to the bar with the others.


	5. Episode Five

The instructions given were straightforward.

Drop off the box at Pop's and be discreet. Under no circumstances, be seen, especially by the waitress.

Simple.

Sage waited until the last customer had left the restaurant. There always seemed to be a lull around this time. She cautiously peeked through one of the windows, as the waitress moved behind the counter. Sage found herself surprised that she recognized the woman as the one from a few nights ago at the Drive-In. She was the one who met FP behind the building.

Her curiosity peaked.

She secured the lid on the box, making sure it was on tight. "Sorry little guy," she whispered to the creature inside as she hugged the box close to her chest and slowly crept to the entrance.

Another careful peek through the window.

The waitress's back was still turned. Sage opened the door, careful not to jingle the bells and accidentally announce herself. Gently placing the box right in the walkway where the brunette would stumble on it, she slinked backward back out the front door. Once she was back outside of the diner, she broke out into a run until she was safely out of distance and smiled.

On a whim, she decided to take the long way back home passing through the old drive-in.

Curiosity seemed to be getting the best of her lately but she could afford the time. She purposely beelined to Jughead's booth, hoping maybe, just maybe he would be there.

She stopped when she saw the graffiti spray-painted on the vinyl side now.

emJughead Jones wuz here./em

Complete with his signature crown hat.

He had moved on. Of course, he had. They were demolishing the place, there was no way he could stay. So where was he now?

She sighed loudly, louder than she needed to, raking her hands through her long hair, fighting the rush of disappointment that overwhelmed her.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, grateful for the distraction. It was a text from FP.

emSunnyside Trailer/em

She stared longingly at the booth one last time and then glanced back down at her phone. With a deep breath, she turned in the opposite direction to head to the trailer park.

emWhat now?/emShe wondered.

***  
As she strolled, lost her in her own thoughts, a door slamming pulled her back to earth. Her attention shifted to the direction of the person that made the noise.

Her heart seized up in her chest. Her feet felt heavy as if they were superglued to the ground, keeping her from moving either forward or back.

Jughead now stood a few feet away, frozen in place as well.

Per usual, they seemed to be at a standstill.

She bit her lip hard, swallowing the lump in her throat as her arms crossed over her chest.

He didn't move, his jaw clenching and his grip tightening around the bag he was clutching.

"Jughead," she whispered, all she could muster.

He shook his head fervently. "I can't do this now, Sage. I just had to pick up a few things from the trailer and I'm meeting someone." He took a micro-step forward, shifting his gaze past her.

"If not now, then when? Another year from now?" she insisted, the words bubbling out and over her lips before she could stop them.

"Sage, I just asked you for one thing. Don't... don't go down this road. Don't become that!" He gestured to the trailer he once considered home, but she knew that he was referencing a who, not a what.

"Oh, Jughead, god! You know, someday, you'll be faced with an... impossible choice. There's really no right and there is no wrong. There's just what you have to do."

His lips curled in a frown and his eyebrows knitted together.

She balled her fist, feeling her nails tear in the flesh of her palms, tears pricking her eyes as she gritted her teeth until her jaw protested. "I'm not like you, Jughead. I'm not brave or good at being alone. I always had you looking out for me, but that was it. And admit it, you couldn't take care of me with everything that was going on with you and your mom and dad. I was bringing you down too. I couldn't be another thing that stressed you out. I didn't know where I was going to sleep, or where my next meal was coming from. I was always hungry and cold and just..." she inhaled shakily, lip trembling, "…so, so tired of lying about it to everyone."

He melted some, his posture becoming more lacked as his shoulders softened. He took a small step forward toward her, closing the gap between them.

She smiled waterily, blinking back tears that she willed not to fall. "And now, I have a room that's all mine. Nothing gets stolen or taken away, and I have food that's hot and sometimes, even good for me. It's not moldy or bland, or gross or out of a trash can. I have friends, real friends, good friends, who care about me. And god, I know, FP is not the father you wished he was. He has failed you again and again in ways I can't understand. He has been a shitty father to you, but he... oh, he is the closest thing I think I have ever had. And that's something, Jug."

She dropped her head down, a tiny sob escaping her as her shoulders slumped further. "Please, can't you understand? Even for a second? I'm okay. I'm more than okay. And I'm surviving finally. And the only thing it cost, was you."

He dropped his bag and rushed her, embracing her tightly. Her hands snaked around to his back, reciprocating the tight hug.

He exhaled long, his eyes falling shut. "You never told me how bad... I wish I could have... I didn't know..." he trailed off.

They broke apart. She swiped her fingers under her eyes to wipe away any evidence of tears and straightened up. His Adam's apple dancing along his throat as he swallowed thickly.

"Okay, I'll try," he vowed, finally speaking. "I will."

It was enough.

He took a step back, picking up his forsaken backpack. He looked torn. "I'm sorry, I really have to go. I'm meeting Betty at school and I'm already really late. We'll talk soon."

She nodded softly, feeling better and worse simultaneously. "Okay."

He gave a tight smile and a small wave and hurried off. She waited till he was gone and made sure she composed herself before walking up to FP's trailer.

He was waiting for her.

Leaning casually against the door frame, his arms were folded over his chest, one leg crossed in front of the other.

"For a girl who rarely shows any type of emotion, that was quite the performance," he commented, with a tilt of his head.

She squared her shoulders up, walking up the steps. "It's fine. I'm fine," she bristled.

"Hmm, come inside for a minute."

She shut the door behind her and waited as FP went to the fridge and pulled out a beer, cracking it open on the countertop. Her eyes wandered to the empty bottles that littered the countertops.

"I got a call almost immediately after you made the drop to my friend. She got the message loud and clear. So now, you're gonna go to Pop's for a milkshake and she's going to give you a takeout bag."

"Okay," she acknowledged slowly, her attention drawn to an open closet. It wasn't the closet itself but what was emin/em the closet. A blue and yellow varsity jacket with the name embroidered on the sleeve 'Jason'.

He followed her gaze, then reached out and shut the closet door with a sharp click of the lock. "Tomorrow, 3:00 PM. Bring it right to Tall Boy, no stops," he said, firmly.

"Why do you have Jason's jacket?" she inquired, the words accidentally slipping out.

He was silent for a few moments. "Insurance," he finally said.

FP's answer confused her. What did that mean? They both stared at each other. FP wasn't going to say anything more about it, and she knew better than to ask.

Sage broke the silence first. "Tomorrow, 3:00 PM. Got it." She turned and reached for the door handle.

"Also," he said, clearing his throat. "I heard what you said to Jughead about me. I don't deserve it, but I do appreciate it. God knows that boy has been through a lot."

She didn't respond.

"I'm going to try," he echoed his son's words from before. He looked uncharacteristically embarrassed and ashamed for a moment. "I'm going to clean up my act and get my family back, I promise."

She bit her lip as she turned and opened the door, her back turned to him.

"Sage?"

"Yea?" her back was still turned.

"Thank you." 


	6. Episode Six

The weather shifted with a permanent chill in the air, as the leaves browned and furled into themselves. And despite his promise, Sage hadn't heard from Jughead in weeks. But there was more than enough to keep her occupied. Things had been fairly dull on the Southside, but just on the opposite side of town, the Northside was making up for it.

Finally, a formal funeral was held for Jason Blossom. Although Sage only had a brief interaction with him, she caught herself thinking of him often that day and wished him peace as he was finally laid to rest.

Aside from the funeral, his ex-girlfriend, who overnight became the main suspect in his open murder investigation, had gone missing. Search parties scattered about Evergreen Forest to find the new suspect.

The town was divided yet again. Some publicly begged her to come home safely, while others wanted blood for blood. That is until the missing girl's parents announced she was pregnant with the Blossom boy's baby.  
It seemed so peculiar to Sage that two young people, whose lives had only just begun, could cause so much division and chaos. Even though it wasn't happening on her turf, the news, gossip, and speculation exploded everywhere.

As if that wasn't enough to keep Sage busy, she felt troubled and consumed by the surprise she found in FP's trailer. There was a gnawing dread in her gut, feeding off all the unanswered questions in her head. Why did FP have Jason's jacket? What did he mean when he called it insurance? How was the waitress fit into this? Did FP have something to do with the missing girl?

There seemed to be no answers, only more questions that lead her down a rabbit hole of confusion. She needed to confide in someone. She was driving herself crazy.

* * *

Sweet Pea and Sage sat together at the bar. Toni recently picked up hours working behind the bar with Hog Eye and when it wasn't busy, they liked to keep her company and occasionally benefit from a few free drinks.

"Where's Joaquin been?" Toni asked as she poured a beer for a wiry woman nearby named Byrdie. She slid it over to her and turned her attention back to the group.

"You haven't heard?" Sweet Pea feigned surprise. "He's been with his new boy toy, Kevin."

"Kevin?"

"The sheriff's kid from the drive-in, remember?"

Sage's head shot up. "Oh really?"

"Yea, and if he's not with his boyfriend, he's with FP," Sweet Pea added, bitterly. There was a note of jealousy in his voice.

_Ah, and the plot thickens_, thought Sage to herself, abandoning her math book.

"Whatcha working on Sage?" Sweet Pea asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Homework," she answered, begrudgingly.

He peeked over her shoulder. "That one is wrong," he pointed out.

She shot him a glare.

"What! Oh, and that one, that's wrong too."

She pursed her lips tightly and slid the sheet of paper over to him. He gave her his signature grin and plucked the pencil from her hand as he bent over the sheet, erasing furiously. Sage turned her attention back to Toni.

"Something's definitely up," Sage whispered to Toni.

"What do you mean?" she asked, leaning in.

"I don't know. I had to go to meet FP and I saw something I don't think I should have. Toni, he had Jason Blossom's jacket in his closet."

Toni's eyes lit up, placing a bottle of whiskey down and leaning in close. "What?"

"It doesn't make much sense. Blossom helped FP do a run for quick money, then he ends up dead. Now, his girlfriend winds up missing?" Sage licked her bottom lip.

"Not to mention pregnant," interjected Toni.

"Remember the final night at the drive-in? There was a woman FP met that night."

Toni leaned in, even more, eyes as wide as saucer plates, drinking up every word.

"What if she paid FP to kill Blossom?" Sage speculated in a hushed voice.

"But why?"

"Why would anyone want to kill a high school kid? I have no idea. But I know that it all has to be connected." Her brow furrowed down. "Right?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But I'll keep my eyes and ears open around here for you."  
"Thanks," Sage smiled as Sweet Pea slid her paper back over.

"Here," he said. "Don't tell anyone that I'm actually a math whiz."

"Your secret is safe... until I need something, then I'm using it as blackmail."

* * *

Things became even more complicated.

The missing girl had been found and had also gone public with her story, including how Jason had taken a job with the Serpents to make money so they could run away together. The police, the Blossoms, and the town, now turned their focus on the Serpents.

The assumption was an obvious one. If Jason was doing a job for the Serpents and it went sour, as often things revolving around the Serpents do, they clearly must have killed him. But where exactly did it go wrong? What was the motive?

Sage laid on her bed, trying to concentrate on a passage for her English literature class. Her eyes skimmed over the same paragraph again and again but she couldn't seem to retain anything from the jumbled up letters. She was debating if she should keep trying or give up altogether when she heard two male voices arguing in hushed voices outside her door.

"What on God's earth has FP done now?" the first voice said, clearly agitated.

"He telling people it's to keep tabs on everything, but the man's losing it. Taking a job with Andrew's Construction? After what Fred did to him?" the second voice gruffed.

"He's been letting stuff slip through his fingers for some time now anyway."

"At least he finally took care of that damn car."

Sage tossed her English book off to the side and crept slowly and quietly over to the door so she could hear better.

"He didn't though. Not on time anyways. His kid and Alice's daughter found it first. They took pictures and ran off to Keller and that's when FP torched the evidence, " the first man rebutted.

The second man cursed loudly. "That damn drunk. His priorities are all wrong. This could really screw us over."

There was silence for a few moments. Sage pressed her ear to the door. She realized she was holding her breath when her lung began to burn in protest.

"...Or it could end up helping us in the long run, if we play our cards right." the second voice mused.

"FP could finally be out finally," the first voice said thoughtfully.

"Speak of the devil, he's calling me. I've got to go meet him. We'll revisit this later. Meet me at the motel later."

Sage waited till she was sure the footsteps were departing before flinging open her door. Still, on her hands and knees, she peered from around the door frame to try to catch a glimpse of the men. One was already out of sight but she definitely knew who the other was.

"Whoa," she whispered out loud. "_Holy shit._"


	7. Episode Seven

Sage's deal with FP was simple and fair.

She must attend school every day and graduate. She was also required to help out the club with any outstanding tasks. Most of the time, it was simple runs and drops, but there was also sometimes the grunt work, sweeping, cleaning, stocking the Whyte Worm and so on. On rare occasions, there were special little projects. Like, for example, delivering the surprise in the box for the waitress at Pop's. It always made her feel important when FP trusted her with tasks like that.

As long as Sage kept up her end of the bargain, FP gave Sage a place to live and allowed her to be in the Serpents. Those were the conditions. Before that, she had tried her best to make it work with no experience in the real world, no job, no money, no family, all while staying under the radar from social services. Eventually, she stumbled across the Serpents, who became home base and her family.

Unbeknownst to most, the Whyte Worm had nine rooms in various sizes upstairs above the bar. Some members crashed there temporarily between housing, some borrowed the space for a drunken one night stand after one too many bourbon shots. FP kept a room for himself, which he used as an office a place to meet with other members privately.

But FP had reserved the smallest room at the end of the hall for her to stay in. He furnished the room with a small twin bed with a lumpy mattress, an old desk, and a wicker dresser. There was one tiny window placed in the center of the wall, her bed to the left of it, the dresser to the right. She tacked a blanket up to keep the early morning light out. Other than that, it had been up to her to find an old microwave which she kept on top of her dresser for her daily dinners of ramen soup and green tea.

Simple but home.

Simplicity was her style.

Perhaps the biggest drawback was the lack of shower and the bathroom was down the hall. But as usual, she found a way to make it work, using the bathroom sink to freshen up daily, or in dire situations, braving the gym locker room at school for a real shower. Another negative was the constant noise and smelled of cheap tequila and cigarettes. But so came the price of living above a bar.

A perk of becoming a Serpent also allowed Sage to earn a little money. Aside from a roof over her head, she was able to earn extra from some of the jobs she did. Essentially it was pennies since she was on the bottom of the totem pole, but she was disciplined and she managed to save most of what she earned only spending what she absolutely needed to. She hoped by the time she graduated, she would have enough saved to rent or even own a trailer in Sunnyside and have a real place of her own someday.

***  
Sage's anxiety was spiraling out of control, her head reeling from accidentally hearing the two men outside her room the night prior. For the first time in months, she genuinely felt unsafe, an uneasiness stirring in the pit of her stomach. The threat of the outside world was an everyday occurrence, but threats within the family concerned her. They swore an oath and to go against that was mutiny. They weren't just waiting for FP to fail, they were counting on it.

She knew she needed to find Toni immediately to help her unravel her concerns.

"We've got to talk!" Sage exclaimed, grabbing Toni's arm, pulling her against the row of lockers out of the bustle of bodies slumping through the hallway.

Toni stared at her wordlessly, drinking in her wild eyes and tight jawline. "Wha—"

"I heard something last night, I definitely should not have heard," she interrupted.

"What the hell happened?" Toni's own eyes widened wearily.

"I was upstairs in my room and I heard two men talking outside in the hall about FP. Toni, they want him out."

"Whoa, whoa, what? Out of what?" She kicked her foot up and back against the locker, hugging her books tight into her chest.

"The Serpents, Toni! They said about how he's dropped the ball and put us all at risk. And something about FP torching the car that Jason Blossom took to get rid of the evidence."

"Oh my god, what?! You need to slow down and explain everything. I need details." Toni said, holding her hand up.

"Mornin' ladies," Sweet Pea sauntered over. He immediately picked up on their protective stance and hushed voices. "Uh, am I interrupting something?" He looked between them

"Always, Sweet Pea," Toni teased, patting him on his broad chest.

Sage rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. "We'll finish talking about this tonight. I'll explain everything and we can try to piece it together. But, I think I was right."

"Piece what together?" Sweet Pea asked. "Right about what?"

Sage looked at Toni wearily. Should they fill him in?

Toni gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, making the decision for both of them. "We'll tell you tonight, but we need to go somewhere private."

"My place is out," Sage stated plainly.

Sweet Pea thought for a moment. "Let's go to my trailer."

Toni and Sweet Pea sat side by side on a raggedy plaid couch in his living room, while Sage sat on the carpeted floor across from them, cross legged.

Sage had never been to his place before prior to this. It appeared smaller than she thought with two small bedrooms, one bathroom. The kitchen and living room were only separated by a counter that served as a breakfast nook. Sweet Pea rarely spoke of his folks, so Sage wasn't sure if he lived with them or not. The bedroom doors were closed and gave nothing away. Although it wasn't exactly clean, it wasn't dirty either. It was just very lived in. A pile of dirty clothes in the middle of the living room and towels draped over a temporary and makeshift clothesline in the kitchen.

"Alright," Sweet Pea said, rubbing his face before tucking his dog tags back under his shirt. "Start from the beginning."

"First," Sage began, "you need to promise me this stays here… in this dingy, dimly lit trailer."

"Hey, don't hate. And yes, I promise."

Sage smiled as Toni positioned herself to get more comfortable on the couch, tucking her legs under her slim frame. "I told Toni this, but a few weeks ago, I went to FP's trailer after a drop and I saw Jason Blossoms jacket hanging in his closet. I asked him about it but he shrugged it off and called it 'insurance'. FP also met some woman at the drive-in. My theory is maybe she paid FP to have Blossom killed."

"No, no," Sweet Pea shook his head. "You've got it all wrong. She was the buyer for the Twilight Drive-In. Well- her husband was. Word is, he's in jail but he used her to secure the deal. He paid FP to have the Serpents trash the drive-in so he could buy the land for at a lower price."

Toni and Sage looked at each other and then back at him. "How do you know that?" asked Toni.

"Joaquin told me. FP and Joaquin have been real tight since the summer."

A light bulb went off. The takeout bag she retrieved from the waitress and given to Mustang, had been filled with stacks of bills.

"So… the reason why he had me drop off the snake for her was because she didn't pay him enough. It was just a warning," she said thoughtfully. "But it had nothing to do with Blossom like I thought. It was all orchestrated around the drive-in, which worked."

Toni nodded. "Yes, okay, that makes sense. But something else happened. What had you pawing at me this morning?"

Sage twirled the pendant on her necklace, rolling it between her fingers. "Two guys were outside my room talking last night. The first thing that took me by surprise was about how FP took a job with Andrew's Construction."

"Why the hell would he do that?" questioned Sweet Pea, sitting up a little straighter, eyes narrowing. He too hadn't heard this piece of information yet.

"I think he really wants to clean it up for Jughead. You know, try and make things right finally," Sage trailed off.

"Yea, that's bull," retorted Sweet Pea. "He was so out of his mind drunk at the bar last night, Mustang had to drag him away from Hog Eye to get him home in one piece."

"I don't know, maybe he needed the money?" Sage suggested half-heartedly.

"We all need money." scoffed Toni. She softened after a moment. "But maybe he really is trying to keep tabs on things on the Northside, especially the Cooper girl throwing out that Blossom worked for the Serpents. Or maybe he really is trying to get his family back. Both are viable hypotheses, really."

Sweet Pea shrugged, tossing a side glance at her. "Okay, nerd."

Toni leaned over and punched him in the arm.

"There's more," Sage continued before Sweet Pea retaliated. "They mentioned something about FP torching evidence. Jughead and some other girl found it and went to the police."

"Snitch!" Sweet Pea exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the couch arm. Toni jumped.

"Sweet Pea…" Sage chided gently.

"What car?" Toni asked.

"If it had evidence, I'm sure it had to do with Blossom again." Sweet Pea said, still frowning deep.

"Which still makes me think that maybe FP actually did kill Blossom." Sage pointed out.

"So… what if he did?" contemplated Sweet Pea.

The group was quiet for a moment, pondering over what that meant to each of them.

"What about the two guys?" Toni wondered redirecting her attention to Sage.

"All I know is that they are counting on FP failing and I think they are planning on trying to throw FP under the bus out so they can take over the club."

Silence came over them again.

"That's a pretty bold accusation." Toni swallowed.

"I'm telling you, they want FP to take the fall for something. They are waiting for an opportunity and they are actively plotting against him.

"Goes against our code." Sweet Pea growled. "Who was it?"

"I couldn't see one of them," she admitted truthfully, "but I saw the other guy. It was Mustang."

Toni exhaled a swoosh of air from her lungs. "Crap." "Watch your back, guys. I think shit's gonna hit the fan soon." Sage warned.

Sweet Pea rubbed his hands on his thighs anxiously. "Well… that didn't answer anything. I just have more questions now."

Sage smiled, tiredly. "Welcome to my life."

They all were startled again when the door flew open, slamming into the wall. Joaquin stumbled in, looking around at the three of them. "Guys…" he said breathlessly. "You won't believe what just happened."

"What is it?" Toni stood up immediately, sensing his urgency.

"Jughead was just taken into custody by the police. He's a suspect in the Blossom murder." 


	8. Episode Eight

Sage sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her to FP's trailer, pounding frantically on the door like a wild woman but when she got no answer, she knew where he had to be.

The Whyte Wyrm.

She took off in the opposite direction. She needed to find him. She flew up the stairs to the entrance, flinging the door open and scanning the bar for FP.

"Where are you? Where are you?" she murmured to herself, her heart protesting by thudding against her ribcage and her lungs burning for a deep enough breath.

He wasn't there either. At least, downstairs.

She dashed to the stairs ignoring Hog Eye who greeted her with a "Where's the fire?", and ran up the stairs hurrying to FP's office.

As she opened the door, she found FP passed out in his chair, head tilted back, mouth agape, knees splayed open. A mix of full and empty bottles littered every space in the room, the floor, the desk, the bookcase.

"Son of a bitch," she swore, moving swiftly over to him, kicking empty cans out of the way. "FP."

He didn't stir.

"FP!" she yelled louder, shaking him by the shoulders. "Wake up!"

He groaned sluggishly, head lulling side to side as his eyes rolled back in his head.

Anger erupted from the pit of her stomach, radiating to her chest. "You're supposed to do better!" She shook him harder.

"Sage..." he drawled slowly, his hazy mind trying to catch up. " What-what are you doing in my office?"

She grabbed a half-full bottle of beer, tipping it over his head, shaking out every last drop.  
That seemed to sober him up. His limbs flailed as he was drenched with stale, flat beer, sputtering angrily as he jumped to his feet. "What that hell do you think you're doing?!" he bellowed.

She met his furious eyes with a look of her own. "You promised to do better. To be better! It's one in the afternoon! What the hell are you doing?"

With his hand, he wiped his face off in one swift swipe, exhaling sharply. "You want to rethink that tone, girl. I don't answer to you! You answer to me!"

"Jughead just got arrested for the murder of Jason Blossom," she spat, dropping the bottle back onto the desk with a loud clatter.

All movement stilled, his face going slack and paling. Wordlessly, he brushed past her and left the room leaving her standing there alone.

Now she realized she had no idea where Jughead lived. This created a new flurry of anxiety in her. She didn't know how to find him. She didn't know what she would say when she saw him. She didn't know what she would do.

She just knew she needed to see him. It was like a reflex at this point.

Standing in FP's office, it dawned on her to simply wait at the Sheriff's office for him. Maybe if she was quick enough, she could still catch him.

As she drew closer to the jail, she saw a familiar face that made her pause. It had been quite a while, longer than a year maybe, but she knew his face well.

Archibald Andrews. He had changed so much. He was much taller, more muscular but yet, still had that endearing boyish charm about him.

"Archie!" she heard herself call as she watched him walk away from the building.

Archie looked up, confusion coloring his face before he realized he recognized her. "Sage?"

She jogged up to him, cutting right to the chase. "Jughead?"

He exhaled a gust of air from his lungs. "He's already back at my place right now. He's okay, all things considering."  
"Yea, what happened?"

"Sheriff Keller tried to pin Jason's murder on him, but he has an alibi for that entire week. He was working for my dad."

Sage felt a weight lift instantly lift off her chest, her shoulders physically relaxing down. "Oh god, okay. Good."

Archie nodded. "Yea, I'm actually on my way to my dad's work now. We have to drop off the timesheet to the sheriff's office for proof"

"I was so worried," she sighed. "I knew he didn't do it."

"Yea, me too," he agreed. "They pulled him right out in the middle of school."

They sighed a breath of relief at the same time.

"I should go. My dad's waiting," he said with a small smile, inching away.

"Wait, Archie, do you know where he is staying? I really need to see him."

"He's actually been crashing with me and my dad. Like I mentioned before, he should be there now."

"Perfect, thank you, Archie. It was good seeing you again."

He offered her another smile and wave. "You too, bye, Sage. Good luck!"

She realized as soon as he was walking away, that she hadn't been to Archie's house in a long time. But even so, she felt confident she could find it even after all that time.

And she could. Northside was a neatly organized display of cookie-cutter houses. All she had to do was verify that the house she was looking for had an old wooden treehouse somewhere in the backyard that you could see from the street. The very few times she did spend in the Northside had been with Jughead and Archie in the treehouse, goofing off, swapping stories and making empty promises.

She felt strangely nervous as she walked up to the front door and knocked loudly. She waited for a few minutes.

The door opened and Jughead peered out hesitantly. When he saw it was Sage, he opened it wide, standing in the door room.

Before he could utter a word, she hurled herself at him, throwing her arms around him. "Oh Jug, I was so worried!"

She felt him melt into the hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I'm okay, Sage," he promised.

Already, she felt a thousand times better.

They parted.

"What the hell happened?" she inquired, shaking her head sympathetically.

He motioned with a tilt of his head. "Come on in, I'll explain," he said.

They settled on opposite couches, facing each other. Sage took a moment to admire how nice Archie's house was, how big and airy it felt as she folded her hands in her lap waiting for Jug to speak.

"Well, it started with Betty's sister, Polly. She told us about a car that Jason has stashed away for them to run away together. Betty and I found it. There was Jason's stuff and drugs in the back. We went to the Sheriff's but apparently when they went to investigate, someone set the car on fire to destroy everything."

Sage kept quiet. She was angry with FP but she didn't want to give Jughead another reason to hate his father at the moment.

"Of course, Sheriff Keller found my fingerprints on the car and then dug into my file and found out about the incident with the matches at Riverdale Elementary School. They concluded that based on that and the fact I may have had a rough history with the jocks, that I must have had gotten revenge by killing Jason."

"That's insanity."

"I asked for a lawyer when I figured out they had me there as a suspect. And then Fred Andrews came in and gave me an alibi and they cut me loose."

"Jughead, I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be. I'm alright, really."

"I saw Archie. He told me you're staying here," she added.

"Yea, it's been nice. After the drive-in shut down, I was staying in a closet at the school."

Sage shook her head, sighing heavily "Oh, Jughead."

"I'm good now, I promise."

"So you keep saying," she smiled. "By the way, Archie? What the hell happened to him? He's ripped!"

Jughead laughed, "A summer working for his dad in construction is what happened."

"Sign me up then," she laughed with him. "Everything else okay?"

He nodded, "Yea, my dad got a job with Fred and I think it's going okay."

"Oh? Is that so?" she mused.

He smirked knowingly. "I'm sure you already knew that though."

She smiled sheepishly. "News travels fast in Serpent land."

"You're doing good?"

It was her turn to nod, "Yea, I'm doing good. Even got a C on my English final."

"Well look at you Einstein, proud of you," he smiled.

She blushed, looking down at her hands. They were still folded in her lap, fingers twitching. "Thanks."

His phone beeped, pulling them out of the moment. He quickly glanced at the message.

"I'm sorry, it's Betty."

"No, no. Please, it's fine," she reassured.

He responded to the message and looked up. "She's gonna head over soon. She was with Polly," he explained.

"Oh, nice," she said, She felt lame suddenly, misplaced even.

"Yea, we're kinda dating now..." he added, clearing his throat.

She blinked in surprise. "Oh, wow, neat."

"Yea..."

An awkward silence fell between them.

"Well," she said, suddenly, unable to stand the stillness. "I'm sorry, I barged in like this. I just... needed to see you," she trailed off, looking up at him.

He looked almost conflicted for a brief moment but smiled genuinely after a moment. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I'm really glad you stopped by. I've been thinking of you."

She stood up, biting her lip trying not to be too pleased by that last statement. "I should go," she resolved, pointing to the door.

"I'll see you soon," he said.

"Definitely."

"I can walk you out," he suggested.

"No, I know where the door is," she said. "Thanks, catch you around." She waved and walked out quickly.

Her stomach continued to roll uncomfortably, her chest oddly tight. She tried not to give it much thought as she intentionally shifted her thoughts.

Jughead was going to be fine, Toni and Sweet Pea were clued in.

Everything was fine.

As she returned home, she saw in the distance FP stumbling out of the Whyte Worm, tripping over his own feet and catching himself on the banister. He barely regained his balance and continued on his way back to Sunnyside.

Everything was _not_ fine.


	9. Episode Nine

Sage avoided FP at all costs for the next few days feeling the fury flood every cell every time she thought of him. Not that it mattered, he wasn't to be seen very often as of late. But just because he wasn't at the bar, she couldn't help but wondered if that just meant he was home getting shit-faced.

She bristled immediately at the thought.

Lunchtime at school, Sage's favorite time of day. The cafeteria seemed much noisier than normal. Something stirring, whispers and looks being passed around in a secretive manner all around them. Joaquin casually joined Fangs, who had begun to come around more frequently, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Sage at their usual table but he arrived later than the rest of them. Even when he sat down, his eyes remained affixed to his phone. He didn't often sit with them, but then again, he didn't often attend school regularly either.

Fangs and Sweet Pea intently chattering on about something happening at a neighboring table, while Toni studied the settings on her camera, her slender fingers dancing around the buttons. Sage observed Joaquin text furiously, his fingernails clattering off the blue screen in a fury. He became aware of Sage's watchful eye, gazing up at her cautiously as if he had been caught.

"What's up?" she probed, curiously.

He cocked his head to the side slightly. "Kevin needs a favor," he spoke finally.

"What kind of favor?"

"He needs me to get him and his friends into the Whyte Wyrm."

"Northsiders? Why do they need to go there?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"One of his friends was attacked and they think it was a Serpent, so they want to see if they can find the guy."

Her jaw clenched tightly in response, the rest of her face contorting in annoyance. Of course, the Serpents were responsible, she thought bitterly.

"Why would anyone in the club beat up a high school student?" she asked incredulously.

"It's… complicated," he stated simply.

"Hmmm," she percolated and after a few moments of silence she asked, "So, are you gonna do it?"

Joaquin nodded slightly.

"Oh my, god," she sat back in wonderment by her revelation. "You really like him, don't you?"

"Who?"

"Kevin."

Joaquin shrugged carelessly, but his eyes told a different story. "I'm just staying close to the sheriff's kid for FP. That's it."

Her lips curl up into a soft smile, nudging him gently with her pointy elbow. "I'm happy for you."

He melted, his features softening into a rare vulnerability and returned her smile. "Thanks, Smith."

* * *

Needless to say, Sage wasn't surprised at all when she saw Joaquin casually stroll into the bar with three tall boys. She did find herself surprised however, that one of the boys, was none other than Archie, of all people.

Kevin, the second boy, stayed behind Archie hanging closely by Joaquin, but the third boy she didn't recognize but sported nasty looking purple bruises on the edge of his broad jawline. They slowly moved through the sea of bodies cautiously, avoiding eye contact with anyone in particular, but yet still precariously checking out the faces of the people around them. They ended up settling at a nearby pool table.

They played for a short while, talking amongst themselves with quiet voices and skeptical glances. Joaquin circled around Kevin playfully, whispering flirtatious things in his ear to ease the boy's nerves. It didn't seem to be working.

The boy with the bruises suddenly nudged Archie sharply, directing his gaze towards a man nearby. There was a silent quiet exchange between them before Archie suddenly reacted, marching forward with some type of crafted confidence. He grabbed Mustang by the shoulder, whipping him around to face him.

"Oh god," groaned Sage to herself.

This wasn't good.

Surprise colored Mustang's face for a brief moment, but he recovered when he glanced over Archie. "What? Do you got a death wish?" Mustang's lip pulled up into a sneer while his eyes lit up, the promise of a fight on the horizon.

The other boys hastily stepped forward behind him with less boldness then Archie but the same sense of urgency.

"Archie, back off," warned Joaquin quietly.

Archie took no heed of his warning and glowered at the man before him. Sage watched his large hands curl into tight fists at his sides.

"What the hell is this?" Mustang spat, sizing the red-head up and down.

"You like beating up teenagers?" Archie asked, heatedly. He didn't seem to be afraid nor intimidated of Mustang.

And Sage felt just the tiniest bit impressed by Archie.

"This ain't the first time one you Bulldogs have come in here lookin' to cause trouble," Mustang raised his voice louder. He gave Archie a sharp shove.

He stumbled over his own feet and fell into Joaquin who tried to steady him. At the same time, a few serpents had circled in around the group and grabbed the other boys immobilizing them from jumping in. When Archie recovered his balance, he wasted no time and sprung forward attacking Mustang.

Mustang anticipated this. They remained gridlocked for a brief moment until Mustang swiftly regained the upper hand. He clutched Archie's jacket in his weathered fists and flung Archie up and over onto the pool table with a hard slam. He cocked back his fist, prepared to deliver a powerful blow when a voice boomed from the stairs.

_"That's enough!"_

Mustang's attention was redirected temporarily. Reluctantly, he lowered his fist back to his side and let Archie up with a low growl. The other Serpents let go of the other two boys, the air still thick with tension.

Archie looked in the direction of the voice calling out orders and confusion saturated his face momentarily before it was replaced by surprise.

FP sauntered over to Archie, standing before him. "I'll take care of this," FP stated solemnly. He huffed softly as Archie continued to venomously stare him down. He motioned for him and the other two boys to the exit, following them out the door and slamming it shut without another word.

"Holy shit," murmured Sage, exhaling a gust of air from her lungs that she had been holding. The bar buzzed with a hectic energy still, the crowd now dispersing back into the corners of the bar. Joaquin eventually sulked over to her.

"You know, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be," he admitted, sitting down on the stool beside her. "But FP is gonna have my head."

She smiled sympathetically. "You were backed into a corner. What were you going to do?"

Joaquin changed his mind and pushed himself back away from the bar, restless and unable to sit. "I"m should go try and call Kevin's cell. Try to keep him from shitting his pants."

Sage laughed. "Did they accomplished what they wanted?"

"I really don't think so."

* * *

Time lapsed on. FP kept himself scarce, busy with perhaps club business. In his absence, Mustang had happily stepped in and seemed to be calling most of the shots.

So when Sage came down the steps one morning, she found herself surprised when she saw FP with Mustang sitting at the bar with a group of Serpents. She stopped at a safe distance trying to eavesdrop.

"I still need volunteers to help out," she overheard him say. "Weekdays are best, but we're so behind, we could use some manpower on the weekend too."

Chatter filtered amongst them and a few hands went up. FP nodded and thanked them.

_What does he need volunteers for?_ She wondered as her fingers found the zipper to her jacket, fiddling it between her fingers.

Lost in her thoughts, Mustang caught her out of the corner of his eye, abandoning the small group and strolling over to her before she could leave.

"Smith," he called out to her, looking smug.  
Her attention was redirected. She tossed him a careless side glance. "What?" she replied monotone.

"You're on scut tonight," he barked. "I need the bar restocked, floors swept and washed down and bathrooms cleaned. We have a big weekend ahead of us."

She shot him a dirty look. There was absolutely no reason for this. She had already been on scut four times this month. He was just abusing his power. That's who he was. A cruel bully who liked to make people feel less than him, who craved power. And Sage wasn't going tolerate it. Not from him, not from a traitor.

"I don't think I am," she spat back, throwing her rucksack over her shoulder, secretly hoping she could pummel him in the face with it. "But I'm sure you'll find someone else to order around. I've got a hell of a lot better things to do than to take orders from someone that cannot abide by the simplest of Serpent law." she snarled, flinging open the door and turning her back to him but not before seeing the shocked look cross over his hardened features.

As she escaped out the door, she could feel his eyes boring into her from behind. She slammed the door shut and hurriedly made her way to school, seething.

* * *

Long walks always cleared her head. She enjoyed them and could stroll for hours on hours. It didn't seem to matter if she was cooped up in her small room all by herself or in a classroom full of students or in the crowded bar at the Whyte Wyrm, she felt the cool sting of loneliness plaguing her at all times. Except on her walks. The fresh air and change of scenery gave her time to sort out all the messes in her head and brought a clarity that she didn't know she needed. She found that she loved walks either early in the morning, just as the morning light crept up behind the mountains of green trees, or late at night when the stars seemed to make their appearances and the moon had settled high into the night sky. She didn't bother with music either. She just strolled, letting the sounds around her and the pavement under the soles of her shoes drive her thoughts.

Sometimes she ventured over to the Northside and roamed around the nicer neighborhoods. She liked to imagine what it would be like to live in all that space, a real bedroom with an actual closet, a bathroom with a shower, a kitchen. She marveled about what the people in those houses worried about. Perhaps if there too many weeds in their flower beds? Whether or not the AC worked in the hot summer months? If the paint on their vinyl siding matched their front doors?

She turned down a familiar street, noticing a bunch of commotion further up. Archie's house, all lit up, music blaring boisterously, and yelling and cheering from a multitude of people somewhere either in the house or in the backyard.

_A typical Friday night._ She mused to herself. Then her thoughts drifted to Jughead. He disdained any type of antics like that, or at least he had. He preferred his coffee, his laptop, and solitude. Was he there at the party? Was Betty with him?

With the mental mention of Betty, she shook her head vigorously, trying to physically shake the thought right out of her head. She didn't want to think of any of it.

Always driven by curiosity, she inched closer to the house, trying to catch the conversations of the drunken teens bellowing outside and see if she recognized anyone. Everyone seemed to be either outside in the back or still inside, and the music only made it harder to pick out voices and specific conversations. She lingered for a few moments.

_I wish I was braver._ She found herself thinking. _If I were, I would crash the party. But I couldn't possibly just show up to a Northsider's house, no, Archie's house and just grab a drink and join in. I'd stick out like a sore thumb. I don't belong there. I don't belong anywhere._

She kicked a pebble, realizing she had been standing still in one spot under the street light, lost in her head. She sighed and urged her feet to move along, carrying the rest of her thoughts with her.

It wasn't until she was just seconds away from finally falling asleep, it dawned on her.

Today was Jughead's birthday.

Was that a party for Jughead?

Worst of all, she had completely forgotten all about his birthday.

Some friend.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I've been painfully busy with work, yoga, family things so I've neglected to update or even write as often as I had been. I also took an extended break because I wasn't enjoying writing and feeling stuck. BIG thank you to dragonegyptianblue for the advice and little heart-to-hearts we've had lately. I've been re-inspired and reviewing what I've written for past chapters so I may be updating as I go along. Hope you are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it. Thanks for tuning in!


	10. Episode Ten

Sage later found out that FP was looking for people to work for Andrew's Construction. Fred Andrews had come into some rough times as of late. He had no crew and no crew meant no work. No work meant no money. FP gathered a group of volunteers to work to get their latest job off the ground.

FP also extended the offer for volunteers for the weekends. Sweet Pea, Joaquin, and Fangs had already signed up for the following weekend. With the promise of a little extra money on the horizon, Sage reluctantly searched out FP to talk him about jumping on board.

He was downstairs, for a rare change, already talking to a group about the logistics of the job; when they needed to be at the job site and anything they might need to bring with them or be aware of. Sage stood in the back, trying to make herself blend in, listening. FP happened to catch her eye and for a brief moment, he met her glance with a stale look of his own.

Butterflies stirred in the pit of her stomach.

He dismissed the group suddenly and they dispersed in different directions. Sweet Pea, who was at the front of the crowd, happened to walk by. He gave her a quick nod.

"Gonna go sneak into a movie with Fangs and Topaz, you in?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Yeah sounds good," she smiled. She still felt FP's eyes boring in her. The butterflies became angry bees, buzzing around. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Movie is in an hour," Sweet Pea added over his shoulder. "I'll see you then."

"Sounds good!"

She lost her nerve and turned hastily to slink upstairs, but FP was already on the move.

He caught her by the elbow.

"Where are you going, girl? We need to talk."

She snapped her arm back out of his grip. "About?"

He quirked an eyebrow, her curt reply throwing him off him.

"You ain't helping with this SoDale project" he stated plainly.

"Why the hell not?" she spat.

"You might want to drop the attitude there," he warned lowly. "Because of the shit you pulled with Mustang the other day and your grades. You've been barely scraping by in school. We had a deal, remember?"

"How the hell did you see my grades? And if you don't keep any of your damn promises, why should I?" she snapped.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, just go grab another drink from the bar. That's what your best at, isn't it?" she sneered.

"Girl, so help me god..." FP shook his head, his teeth gritted. He leaned in close to her face, gripping the collar of her leather jacket in a tight fist. "First, I'm an adult and the leader of this club, I make the damn rules! Secondly, I give you a place to live based on our agreement. Make no mistake, I will put you on your ass if you don't adhere to our original agreement. Third, if you _ever_ speak to me like that ever again, I'll have you washing the Whyte Wyrm's toilets now and until the day your hands are old, wrinkled and incapable of holding a goddamn toilet brush. You won't see the light of day or have anything to do with club business!"

She glared at him angrily, lips set in a thin line.

He released her, none too gently. "Get the hell outta my sight."

"Gladly," she countered, coolly.

"And get your sorry ass to upstairs and pull up those grades. And make sure your back here after school on Monday. Mustang said you're on scut, so that's what you're doing, till I say so!"

* * *

From that moment on, she was pretty much on lockdown. She imagined if she had real parents and home like a normal teenager, it would be the equivalent to being grounded. But she didn't have a choice. She couldn't be kicked out of the Serpents and she couldn't live out on the streets.

Not again.

Not only was she cut off from helping out on weekends with the SoDale project, but she also couldn't help with any drops or other club business. She was on scut at the bar and confined to extra tutoring at school.

She felt suffocated.

She wished that school came easily to her, she just didn't have the interest. Letters often jumbled themselves on the pages and she couldn't spell for beans. And the last time she had been good at math was in her early elementary years, where it was as simple as adding and subtracting and numbers and letters of the alphabet didn't mix.

She knew she was more street smart than book smart, and Sage was proud of that.

Time stood still while she continued her monotonous routine day after day. One week bled into another.

She lay in bed, already dreading the following day as the chatter from the bar quieted down on the floor below her. Even though it wasn't that late, her body was exhausted from unloading about fifty boxes of liquor from the truck to the cellar. But she couldn't fall asleep.

She huffed, annoyed. She felt a craving for some spontaneity in her life. So she did something that she never usually did.

She texted Jughead.

Sage really didn't care for texting or technology for that matter. In fact, she was a sorry excuse for her millennial generation. Perhaps it was because she had a prehistoric version of an iPhone that she mostly used her phone for staying connected with the Serpents or music.

She lay back against her pillows, impatiently checking her phone every few minutes for a response until she felt it buzzing in her hands.

She saw the response and grinned, throwing off her covers, pulling on a pair of jeans that was no doubt, probably dirty. She pocketed her phone, grabbed a few dollars and the gift she had for him, complete with newspaper wrapping and left for Pop's, sneaking out the back door eagerly.

When she arrived, she was more than happy to see Jughead nestled in his normal booth, laptop open and naturally, a cup of coffee pushed to the side.

"Hey," she greeted him, sliding into the booth on the opposite side.

He looked up from his computer and smiled. "Hey, yourself. I was surprised to see your text, I'm glad you texted me," he admitted.

She smiled back sheepishly, "Well," she started, "I'm afraid I was a real shit friend to you,"

Confusion colored his face. "What do you mean?"

She revealed her hand-wrapped gift from under the table and presented it to him. "I know you hate your birthday, but that doesn't give me an excuse to forget it. Happy Belated Birthday Jug."

He shook his head. "Really?" He took the present, putting it down in front of him, analyzing it carefully. "Boy, this birthday really won't end."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Betty decided to throw me a surprise party," he started.

"Oh, no."

"Yeah and Archie knew and did nothing to stop her. And then all of Riverdale High School caught wind and it turned into a kegger."

"Oh, no," she repeated, her arms folded down on the table in front of her.

"And then I may have gotten into a fistfight with some jock."

Sage rendered speechless for a moment, noticing the small almost-healed cut on his cheek.

"So, yea, if I didn't like it, to begin with, I really loathe it now."

"Well, ignore all that for a minute and just open it," she urged excitedly, nudging the gift impatiently.

He peeled off the newspaper, crumpling it as a grin spreading across his face. "First edition? How did you even find this?" He held up the book, flipping it over, before peeking inside the covers.

"A shop in Glendale actually. Just need to know where to look," she smiled, a warm feeling spreading over her body. She was elated that he was so excited about her gift.  
"I remember that was your favorite author, so I thought even if you had the book, you wouldn't have this edition."

"I don't. Wow, this is great. Thank you, Sage."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

"I love it."

He flipped through the book briefly, his eyes roaming over the glossy ink as his nimble fingers feathered through the pages.

"So, no more birthday parties for you?" she teased. His eyes left his newest possession and met hers, distracted.

"No, Betty and I had a long talk about that one. I mean, her intentions were good, I suppose. She invited my dad and even he came."

The grin wiped clear off her face. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. He's really trying, Sage. He's been going to work every day, and he cleaned the trailer completely. It's spotless. And he stopped drinking, cold turkey. He's been sober for a few weeks. Man, he's even shaved his face!"

She exhaled deeply, ignoring the churning of her stomach. "Whoa," she breathed. "That is something." Her mind reeled. She hadn't seen him since the last time they shared words. All the orders as of late had been coming from either Mustang or Tall Boy.

"Do you think it will it last?" she questioned cautiously.

"I had my doubts, but he's different, Sage, I swear. I gave him my manuscript to read over. He actually read it and even asking me questions about it. He gave a shit."

"That's incredible."

"Yeah, so, I'm thinking I might move back home."

"Really?"

He stopped for a moment. "You seem surprised by all this. Why?"

Sage licked her bottom lip before chewing on it. "I honestly haven't seen him much."

"Why not?" he pressed.

"I may have had a slight rebellious streak in me," she admitted.

Jughead laughed, surprising her. "Not you, never!" he teased.

Her face softened.

"So you two got into it, huh?" he guessed, sobering the tone of the conversation.

"I just got really mad at him. And then he's getting down on me 'cause of my grades."

"You always hated school," he remembered.

"Still do. It's so pointless. I can break into a house in 23 different ways, but I'm failing at life cause I can't remember PEMDAS?"

"Technically one could argue that knowing 23 different ways to break into a house is failing at life..."

She grinned.

"Why does my dad care if you're failing at school?"

"It's part of my deal with him," she answered. "A big reason why I became a Serpent. When I joined, I had no place to live and I wasn't about to go back to the Sister's or into the system. He gave me a room upstairs in the Whyte Wyrm and instead of 'rent', I pay with grades and the promise that I'll graduate high school. I'm not sure why it matters so much to him."

Jughead was thoughtful for a moment. "My dad did that for you?"

Sage nodded.

Jughead smiled softly. She couldn't tell what he was thinking but it seemed like he was content with whatever was passing through his thoughts.

"Well," he began, "at least I know where to find you now."

"Indeed," she agreed. She liked the thought.

"And hey, if you need help in school, Betty is a great tutor. She helped Archie countless times and I'm sure if I asked her to, she would be happy to help you out."

The thought put a sour taste in her mouth and she tried not to let her face give anything away. "Thanks, Jug, but I've got the finest of the Southside Sludge already helping me three days a week for the next few weeks."

"Just let me know if that doesn't work out."

"I will," she promised.

"So, I'm pretty sure that being a good student means going to bed on time and not sneaking out late at night," he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, screw that."

"Couldn't sleep?"

She shrugged.

"Maybe you should fix whatever has you so angry with FP," he suggested casually.

"That's ripe coming from the guy who lived in the movie booth and a closet for nearly a year," she pointed out.

"Exactly why I'm saying it. I've had a lot of time to think about this. I wasted over a year thinking my anger was justified and that I was punishing my dad by staying mad at him. But I wasn't only hurting him, but I was hurting myself too. Imagine if instead of trying to punish him, I tried to be more patient or understanding. My dad may not have struggled so much."

"Wow, so Betty has really rubbed off on you," she stated blandly, rolling her eyes.

"It's true," he defended.

"It may have not made a difference at all."

"Even so, it was wasted energy. Just look at you and I. I held a grudge against you for an entire year. I lost an entire year with you."

She grew silent.

"It became more about me than you. If I just said something, I would have known how much you were struggling. I may have been able to help you. I would have been there for you. You wouldn't have had the weight of both my anger and yours on your shoulders."

Swallowing felt hard at that moment, but she tried to nonetheless, still staying quiet.

"I'm just saying, if I've learned anything from Jason Blossom, is that life is too short to stay angry and bitter at someone."

She looked down at her hands, playing with the silver rings that decorated her fingers.

"You know how I know I've gotten through to you?" Jughead joked, attempting to lighten the mood. "You get really, really, really quiet."

She smiled tightly letting the words marinate. "Thanks, Jug."

"Now, if you really want to make up for missing my birthday, you can buy me a chocolate milkshake," he grinned.

She laughed, her spirits lifted immediately. "Fine, you've got a deal."

* * *

Finally finished updating and re-editing all previous chapters. I'll be posting some new content soon! Really excited to share! See you soon!


	11. Episode Eleven

The teacher handed Sage back last week's test just as the lunch bell rang. On the top of the page, in bright red, a C- scribbled.

She smiled. _Not a D._ She thought pleased with herself, shoving the paper into her rucksack.

Although she wasn't raking in the A's or B's quite yet, she was steadily doing considerably better on all her recent quizzes and tests. Not that it mattered. If FP was scarce before, he was virtually non-existent now.

There had been no resolution between them and the fire behind her anger were just embers at this point. Behind it all, she truly missed FP. How the Jones men always seemed to get the best of her emotions.

She strolled to the cafeteria, still thinking about FP and settling between Toni and Joaquin. Sweet Pea was missing from their usual table.

"Where's Pea?" she asked Toni, looking around.

"Tall Boy needed him today so he ditched."

Sage huffed. "Wish I could ditch," she murmured wistfully.

"Speaking of wanting to ditch," Joaquin spoke suddenly. "I have to go to Northside's Homecoming dance tonight with Kevin."

"Oh really?" mused Toni.

"Got my suit and tie already," Joaquin responded. "Kevin is beside himself with excitement."

"You'll have fun," Sage said. "At least one of us will tonight."

"I think it's nice that life has been rather boring lately," Toni commented, taking a bite of apple with a loud crunch.

Sage snorted. "Speak for yourself. I'm about ready to die I'm so bored. Thank God, my grades are starting to improve, not that FP is around to let me off the hook anytime soon."

"How's tutoring going?" Toni asked as Joaquin redirected his attention to his phone, talking to Kevin, no doubt.

"I honestly don't know what is worse. All the scut I've been doing around the Wyrm, thanks to that jerkwad Mustang or all the tutoring," she groaned softly.

Toni smiled sympathetically. "It won't last forever. Anymore updates with Mustang?"

Sage shook her head. "Absolutely nothing. Everything has been painfully dull with nothing new to report. He's still an ass and he's still running the show now that FP is working so much for Andrew's."

Joaquin pocketed his phone as he stood up, breaking up their conversation. "I've got to go ditch too and calm Kevin down. He's already freaking out about getting there early. Dance is at 7:00 and he wants to be there by 6:00." He shook his head with a roll of his eyes, but they were soft and playful.

"Have fun," Sage giggled.

"Have a blast," echoed Toni with a grin.

He pushed his raven hair back off his face with one more dashing smile and looked around casually before slipping out the side exit.

"I'd pay money to see Joaquin at Homecoming with Kevin," Toni commented.

"He'll end up having fun. What's the worst that could happen?" Sage wondered out loud.

* * *

Jughead's words from the previous week played on repeat and echoed around in her head as Sage made her nightly stroll. Her tutoring was done, homework complete and bar completely swept, scrubbed and mopped.

Her heart and her mind were at war with each other. Her mind desperately wanted to stay stubborn and angry at FP for the sake of being stubborn but her heart told her that Jughead was right. It was doing her no good. FP had always wanted the best for her and she couldn't fault him for that.

He was only human and he too, like her, had his demons. Could she really judge him so harshly?

It was time to make amends.

As she walked in the entrance of Sunnyside Trailer park she noticed the blinding red, blue and white lights up ahead… at FP's trailer.

Her feet frozen to the ground as she counted five police cars parked outside of the trailer. The lights were on in the trailer and the commotion of the police tearing through the trailer could be heard from where she stood.

"Shit," she breathed.

The news was everywhere even days later.

FP was arrested and had emconfessed/em to the murder of Jason Blossom.

There weren't many words to describe the sense of disappointment and absolute dread that filled Sage from the moment she heard the news. The Whyte Wyrm remained a somber and desolate place as many of the Serpents had been brought in for interrogations. Nothing felt safe. Worst of all, Sage couldn't untangle the knots in her stomach.

He had killed Jason. It didn't seem possible.

Did Mustang know? Is that what he was talking about that night in the hallway? Did he know?

What would happen next?

Where was Jughead? More importantly, emhow/emwas Jughead? She could only imagine.

She spent a lot of time hiding away in her room, anxiety gripping her like an iron vice. Uncertainty didn't sit well and now the only person she had truly considered family, was ripped from her. Life was so unfair.

She could hear Mustang downstairs talking with Tall Boy and she felt her stomach churn with anger. As if they had FP's best interest at heart.

She swallowed down the lump in her through, grabbing her phone and locking her door before going downstairs. She felt Tall Boy's eyes on her and the hair on her neck stood on end. She gritted her teeth till her jaw ached, throwing both him and Mustang the nastiest look she could muster before intentionally slamming the door shut.

She did the only thing she thought would make her feel less helpless.

She headed to the prison to go see FP.

* * *

**A/N:** NEW CHAPTER finally! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I really wanted to go back and re-edit the previous chapters. Now that that is all set, I can focus on some of the new stuff. I'd love some feedback on what you'd like to see happen or your thoughts so far! Let me know and until next time!


	12. Episode Twelve

"Sign in here," the officer said as he pointed to the clipboard. He eyed her warily as she scribbled her name on the sheet of paper.

She sat back down, wringing her fingers in her lap until a different officer called her up. After he cleared her through a brief security check, he brought her down several halls to the holding cells. Riverdale prison was too small for visitation rooms.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor as she approached his cell. Time seemed to stand still and she seemed to be hyper-focused on all the little details around her as she heard the escorting officer depart. Maybe it was her brain's way of distracting her from her racing heart and rolling stomach.

She came to a standstill at the front of his cell, turning as slow as she could to face him. He sat, perched on the cot, one leg tucked up underneath him. His heavy gaze shifted up to her face and they stood silent for a few moments, the air thick with tension.

"What are you doing here, girl?" he spoke, breaking the silence first.

Her tongue felt stuck to the roof of her mouth. She tried to swallow.

"Sage," he pressed again.

"How could you?" she hissed. "How could you do this?" It came out more angrily than she had meant to but even FP could hear the hurt and anguish dripping from every word.

He shook his head, his eyes falling shut.

"This doesn't concern you."

"This has _EVERYTHING_ to do with me! The Serpents, my home, Jughead! It concerns every single area of my life. I don't understand why you did this. He was just a kid! He was my age! How could you do this?" she demanded again.

"I need you to trust me, Sage," he spoke lowly.

"How can I?" she spat. "All I've done for the last few months is blindly defend you. Take orders I didn't always believe in, try to do the right thing and for what? For this? The Serpents are a family built on loyalty and trust and you destroyed that! Hell, I've had your back even when Mustang was plotting against you and even then, I listened to you when you put him and Tall Boy in charge."

His facial expression gave nothing away but his eyes flickered ever so subtly.

"Now, after this… after all of this, you still want me to trust you? The night you confessed to _MURDERING_ a teenager. You know, I was coming to apologize, I don't know what for. Maybe for being so angry, or for subtly rebelling against you or maybe for holding you on such a pedestal that you would, no doubt, let me down. But now I just feel so stupid. I'm so… disappointed. But it all makes sense now. Mustang, Jason's jacket, the drinking. You ruined everything!"

She didn't realize she was yelling until she the words stopped spewing, her hands now gripping the iron bars tightly, knuckles white.

He stood up slowly from his bed and drew closer to her. "I understand how you must feel. I did what I had to do."

"But why?" she pleaded. "Why did you have to do this?"

"Sage," he sighed. "Please, just go. You won't find any answers here. As the leader of the Serpents, I saw an immediate threat and I did what I had to. I did what others couldn't have."

"That isn't you though! You took me in, Sweet Pea, Toni. There's no way a 17-year old kid was a threat," she argued.

Then it hit her all in a rush. She exhaled a gust of air from her lungs and stepped backward, mouth falling agape. "There's no way a 17-year old kid was a threat," she repeated slowly.

Her eyes found his, searching for them. He reached through the bars and gently placed his hand over hers.

"You didn't do this," she whispered.

His lips set in a line thin and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Why are you taking the fall?" she still asked in a hushed voice her head buzzing with the newfound revelation.

"I do what I have to protect the people I love," he stated solemnly, pulling his hands back.

"How do we fix this?" she whispered.

"_We_ don't. You go to school, you graduate, you stay close to Sweet Pea, Toni, Jughead and the others and keep to the code. Live it, breathe it, _be_ it.

"No serpent left behind," her lip now trembled as relief, remorse, and sorrow flooded her chest.

"I'm not left behind. I'm right here doing what I have to, just like you're going to do."

She nodded quickly, throat impossibly tight.

"Everything will be okay," he reassured.

She looked down at her feet, focusing on the hole on the top of her boot. Anything to distract her from how utterly small and helpless she felt at the moment.

"Sage, you won't say anything to anyone," he said firmly. "Especially not Jughead."

"But wh-"

"Just promise me," he interrupted.

"I promise."

"Everything will be okay," he echoed.

She nodded numbly.

"Now, go," he urged. "And Sage?"

"Yea?"

"Don't come back here."

* * *

Not my best, but another little filler.

Curious, who are your favorite characters in Riverdale? What about least favorite? Mines definitely Sweet Pea, Betty and good ol' Fred. Least favorite is Josie and Penelope Blossom.


	13. Episode Thirteen

Despite her promise to FP, Sage knew she had to do something to prove that FP's innocence. This would be no easy task which would be difficult considering his blatant confession of the crime.

_"I do what I have to protect the people I love,"_ he had said.

Who was he protecting? The Serpents? No, too vague. He was more specific.

_Jughead,_ she thought to herself. But what did have to do with any of this? Unless whoever he was covering for had threatened Jughead's life. But who would do that?

She took out her notebook and wrote out a list of possible suspects.

_Mustang Man in the hallways with Mustang?_  
_Waitress at pop's (Hermione Lodge) _

Mustang was at the top of the list but she couldn't rule out anyone. She had to go off of facts and anybody that FP had dealings with. She still couldn't figure out why would anyone be so threatened by a 17-year old boy that they felt murder was the only choice.

She mulled over the thought for a moment before adding a fourth name to the list.

_The Coopers _

It was no secret, even on the Southside that the Coopers and the Blossoms loathed each other. But could they be capable of so much hatred for their daughter's boyfriend that they would resort to that?

And how was she going to prove that it wasn't FP? She desperately wanted to call Jughead but knew that if she did, she would spill everything. She wanted to honor her promise to FP.

So she did the next best thing. She decided to tail every single one of her suspects and she'd start with Mustang and the Cooper's first.

She skipped school the next day and figured she'd need to start early, so she gathered everything she would need for a stakeout and made her way across town to the Northside.

She noted the time. The Coopers would probably be getting ready to go to work as opposed to any Serpents, who no doubt, were probably passed out from the night's prior events. She beelined to the Cooper household first and positioned herself practically in the shrubbery making sure she had a good view but was out of sight from anyone else.

Her timing was perfect. The Cooper's door opened and Betty skipped down the stairs, coming to the end of the walkway where it met the sidewalk and halting. Sage shrunk herself into the shrubbery, ignoring the sharp jab of a stick in her lower back. The next house over, the door also opened and Archie walked out. He greeted Betty with a warm smile and together they began walking down the sidewalk to school.

Where was Jughead though? Was he still living with Archie and Fred?

She quickly debated if she should knock on the door to see if he was home but resolved that she couldn't afford to be distracted. And running to Jughead would certainly be a distraction.

She only had to wait a short while longer before Mrs. Cooper came out of the house next. Her nose was wrinkled as if she smelled something foul and she paused to reposition her purse on her sharp shoulder and retrieve her keys with her perfectly manicured fingernails.

_Shit,_ Sage thought. She hadn't factored in her lack of transportation.

Mrs. Cooper double checked the front door to make sure it was locked. Sage realized that Hal, her husband wasn't with her. Could he already be at work?

Sage needed to know. She removed herself from her secure hiding area, picking the leaves from the ends of her hair and began walking to the center of town where Riverdale Registry was. By the time she got there, Alice Cooper's car was parked out front and she already was behind a computer typing furiously, pausing only occasionally to take sips of her coffee

Sage found a bench across the street and settled in watching her for a while. Boredom replaced the excitement she had felt just a few hours prior. She needed a reason to go in there to see if she could find anything. She rubbed her face tiredly, standing up when suddenly, her a solution presented itself.

Alice got a call on her cell phone just as Sage crossed the street towards the building. Alice stood abruptly, disappearing in the back.

Sage pulled her hood over her face a little tighter hastily opened the door, creeping in. She heard Alice talking in the room, but to whom? She moved to her desk, stealing one more glance over her shoulder to make sure it was safe. She wiggled the mouse on the computer to see exactly what Alice was working on.

A newspaper article all about FP's elicit confession and tainted history.

"Fucking hell," Sage murmured angrily, skimming through the article, before hitting delete. The entire draft was gone in one click. She smiled smugly as she saved it.

"No, Hal!" exclaimed Alice from the next room, making Sage jump nearly a foot high, "I'm doing it now. I don't need you to come in and bother me with your trivial nonsense."

Sage's ears perked up. Things didn't sound good between them. She quickly clicked out of the formatting page and pulled up the calendar pulling up the week that Jason was murdered. Both Hal and Alice were busy from the start of almost every day till late in the evening, booked solid from meetings, interviews, appointments and charity events. She then pulled open her email account open on a second browser, skimming through several pages of emails.

_Alice Cooper, you are one nasty, resentful bitch._ Sage thought as she scrolled through countless emails.

From the backroom once more, she heard Alice sighed loudly as if whatever he was saying was so bothersome and she wanted him to know it, "Fine, Hal. I'll see you soon."

Sage quickly pulled up the formatting program again, sans the FP article, grabbed her bookbag and hurriedly ran out the door as quickly and as quietly as she could. She walked briskly until she turned a corner, resting against the brick wall, catching her breath as her heart pounded against her sternum from the adrenaline.

She closed her eyes for a moment, pressing the length of her backside firmly against the cool wall and sighed. From what it seemed, the Coopers were just terrible people, not murders.

She made her way back to the White Wyrm. She needed to find Mustang and she knew just the person who would know where he was.

"Hog Eye!" she called out the minute she walked through the entrance doors.

He looked up from the counter. "Sage, what can I do for you?" he mused, returning to his task of wiping down the bar countertop.

"I need to speak with Mustang. Where is he?"

"He's not here. Haven't seen him all day, actually," he commented, sweeping some broken glass onto the floor.

"Where is he staying? I really need to speak to him."

Hog Eye stilled, meeting her secretive eyes with his own dark ones. "I don't think he'll be wanted to speak with the likes of you, especially with everything that's happening 'round here."

"I need to see him. And you know everything that happens around here."

He smiled somewhat proudly, "Ah, alright. He's been living at the City Centre Motor Hotel."

She returned his smile with one of her own. "Thanks, Hog Eye."

"If you really want to thank me, you'll help with clean up for tomorrow," he suggested, looking around the place.

"Deal," she grinned, already halfway out the door.

It was late in the afternoon by the time she got to the hotel. She stood outside his janky hotel door, listening for a moment, ear pressed to the door.

She could hear nothing. She reached up and knocked on the door loudly and waited.

Nothing.

He wasn't home.

Perfect.

She rattled the door handle, surprised with the door opened with ease. It wasn't locked? How strange.

She crept inside and closed the door behind her softly, looking around the space. He had been living here for a while it seemed. The musty, dank smell making her stomach roll slightly.

She walked over to the hotel desk, pawing through any mail or documents she could find. She came up empty. Surely, Mustang wasn't that stupid, but she had still been hopeful.

She looked in every corner of the hotel room and struck literal gold when she peeked under the bed. She pulled out a large leather duffle bag.

_H.L._

"What do we have here," she murmured, unzipping the bag. She gasped. Stacks and stacks of bills in there. Thousands of dollars!

"Holy shit," she said aloud, noting the initials. H.L. Hermione Lodge? She was definitely involved with Mustang. This gave her no proof, yet, that FP was innocent.

She took two stacks of bills from the duffle bag, stuffing it in her bookbag.

_What Mustang doesn't know won't hurt him,_ she thought as she grabbed one more.

She zipped up the bag, shoving it back under the bed and stood up, dusting off her pants and noticed the bathroom door slightly ajar. She pressed it opened and immediately stumbled back with a scream cutting loose from her throat.

"Oh my, fuck," she gasped, sharply inhaling.

Mustang, corpse white and eyes still peeled open, dead in the bathtub.

She covered her mouth, her brain trying to connect the facts despite her panic. She noticed the needle in his arm. An overdose?

She shook her head violently. She couldn't be there any longer. Panic seized her as she quickly left, making sure everything was as she had originally left it.

At this point, Sage didn't know what to feel or think or do anymore. She just knew that she wanted to forget everything that had happened.

* * *

**I updated on Ao3 and forgot to update here! Sorry! I'll be working on Chapter 14 soon! Stay put! **


	14. Episode Fourteen

"Hey there," a voice said.

Sage groaned, the cool wood of the bar pressed against her check.

"Shitfaced on a Monday night?" the high voice taunted teasingly.

"Shhhh," Sage moaned, peeking out of one eye.

Toni smiled down at her. "Rough day?"

"Just wanted to forget ev'thing," she murmured. She was definitely still drunk and had no idea how long she had been passed out for. She only knew that from the hotel she immediately beelined home and sought comfort from a bottle.

"Well, you need to peel your face off my bar so we can use it for tonight," Toni said.

"I can use it," Sage grunted, pulling herself upright and pulling a twenty from her earlier heist and sliding it over to Toni. "I'ma paying customer. Here's a tip, keep them coming."

Toni looked at the bill. "Where did you get this?"

"I've been doing extra work, don't worry about it."

"Sage, it's only 7:00 PM and you're wasted. This isn't like you. Are you okay? Did something happen?" Concern flooded her face, as her pouty lips turned down into a frown.

Sage barked out a laugh, "Yea, something happened a'right," she slurred. "Riverdale happened. This cesspool of humans who undercut and lie and ruin other people's lives."

"What the hell are you talking about," Toni questioned.

"I need a drink," she trailed off.

"Sage, what the hell! You started without me?" Sweet Pea's voice came from behind her as he sat down next to her and across from Toni.

Toni exchanged a puzzled look with him. "Started and finished. She's cut off," she said, firmly.

Sage suddenly didn't have the strength to lift her head up. "Fine, I'm tired anyway."

"Want me to carry you?" Sweet Pea teased.

"Hell, no." She pressed herself up slowly, her heavy head spinning and blinking a few times to adjust. "Tada…. Upright."

Sweet Pea snorted. "You're a lush, Smith."

Toni didn't smile though. Something was up and didn't like the feeling of dread settling in her stomach.

Sage woke up the next day, oreo'ed between her wall and a warm body. She rolled over to a mess of black and highlighted pink curls and long slim limbs entangled in the blankets.

"Toni?" she croaked out.

Toni let out a sleepy groan, her eyes fluttering open as she rubbed the sleep from them. "Morning. How are you feeling?"

Sage accessed herself. "Fine, I think."

Toni grinned sleepily. "That's because I cut you off, made you eat something greasy and loaded with carbs and hydrated you before I sent you to bed. You're welcome."

Sage gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you. You sleep okay?"

Toni stretched, reaching her dainty hands over her head with another low groan. "Yea, I hope you don't mind me crashing with you. I've been having to couch surf lately. You said it was fine last night."

"Anytime, Toni," she sat up, rubbing her face. "I remember that and you helping me upstairs, but I don't remember anything after."

"You were out as soon as your body hit the mattress," Toni said. "You were babbling nonsense about seeing too many dead bodies or something. Sweet Pea was having a field day with you."

Sage jerked her head to look at Toni.

"What?" Toni asked when the color drained from her face.

"I have to tell you something."

"What's wrong?"

"Mustang is dead."

"What! How! What do you mean?"

"I thought he had something to do with Blossom and FP and so I was tailing him. I went to his hotel room I found him in the bathroom. He overdosed." Sage swallowed hard.

"We have to tell someone," Toni urged.

"I'm not telling anyone. I kept sticking my nose where it didn't belong and it's taking its toll on me, mentally. It's too much death. I can't handle it." She hadn't realized she was crying, till a tear dropped on her hand. Toni leaned over and gave her a hug. "I'm in over my head."

"It's going to be okay, I promise," she said with a gentle squeeze.

"How? FP is in jail. Mustang was a traitor and now he's dead.. The Northsiders want our blood and the Southside is falling apart one Serpent at a time."

"It's not that bad, it just feels a little hopeless right now."

Toni gently lifted up her chin delicately, meeting her eyes. "Hey, look at me. In unity, there is strength."

"In unity, there is strength," Sage echoed.

Toni and Sage didn't need to tell anyone. The police found Mustang merely hours after Sage had. On top of that, despite her best efforts to stall Alice Cooper, gushed all about the details about FP's confession on the next morning's front page.

Things seemed to be crumbling around her left and right.

With a lot of coaxing and only a moderate amount of bribing, Toni convinced Sage to return to back to school and hang up the detective hat. Proving FP's innocence still felt important but had to go on the back burner for the time being.

The afternoon light shone through the window at the bar as Sage sat with a paper and pen, doodling aimlessly.

"Sage," a voice behind her said.

She turned around on the stool.

Joaquin stood before her with an old duffle back, wearing a worried expression.

"What's going on?" she asked, standing to her feet.

"I'm leaving Riverdale. Kevin is meeting me at the bus station. After Mustang, it's not safe for me anymore."

"Wait, what?" she grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him into a back storage closet. "What do you mean it's not safe for you?"

"You haven't figured it out, Detective? I'm disappointed," he teased, his words light but his tone heavy. "FP called me one night to come help him. When I got there, Blossom was already dead. I helped FP clean up and later dump the body into Sweetwater River."

"You?" she gasped.

He nodded and looked the teeniest bit ashamed.

"But FP didn't kill him…" she trailed. Did Joaquin know the truth too?

"I never saw him do it, but he did confess. I'm afraid he'll be giving my name. And even if he doesn't. Someone is tying up loose ends. I don't think Mustang's death was an accident. I'm afraid I'm next if I stick around"

"Joaquin," she started to say.

"I know, I'm telling you a lot of information right now," he interrupted. "Only because I know you've been driving yourself crazy. That and I consider you to be one of my closest friends here."

Her throat got tight suddenly. This was goodbye.

"I wanted to say thank you for always pushing me to be happy, for accepting me for who I am.. Could I ask you one favor though?"

"Anything," she swallowed.

"Keep an eye out on Kevin for me. This is going to be hard on him. He's already so mad at me."

"I will."

He stepped forward, wrapping her in a quick and tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Let me know when you're safe," she pleaded softly.

"I gotta go," he continued dismissively. "Kevin is waiting. Take care of yourself," he said with a soft smile before he dashed out of the storage room.

Sage exhaled loudly, leaning against a few shelves and sinking down to the floor. She covered her face with her hands and finally let out a loud sob.

For Jason.

For FP.

For Joaquin.

Hell, for Kevin.

And even for herself.

* * *

Leave some suggestions! I'm not sure if I should begin to wrap this story up or continue into season two (I have ideas and chapters written for s2). Maybe even break it up into another story? Would love some advice! Thanks!


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